Lava Mt. Vesuvius Naples, Italy

Lava Vesuvius Naples Italy

A family member brought this after a visit to Vesuvius last summer.  It lay on my work bend until last week.  I broke the sample.  Breaking is a accepted procedure in geological circles.  The lava deteriorates with exposure to the elements.  You may notice the smooth lava on the upper left.  That is due to atmospheric deterioration.  The group of round vesicles on the right is a place where the sample broke.  By viewing the break I can see the condition of the lava on the interior.  I'm guessing that this sample of lava was exuded from last eruption on March 18 of 1944.  It is only slightly older than I.

I scrutinize a sample like this closely.  I wondered about the white things.  I thought they might be dust.  After a closer look, I decided they were mostly quartz crystals.  I even think I might have found pyrite.  I became excited.  I thought that I should contact the geologists at Mt. Vesuvius to make them aware of this.  This morning I was looking at some earlier images of lava and was surprised to note that quartz is strongly present.  In them, it melted and flowed with the lava. I have decided that the geologists don't need my input.

Lava Vesuvius Naples Italy

This sample is small, 10 mm at the longest.  It is displayed at 6.58X magnification.  The one at the  top is 9.4X.

Lava Vesuvius Naples Italy

www.larrysimages.com/  is going away.



Follow Larry's Images on Facebook. 



If you wish to unsubscribe, email to larry@larrysimages.com with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.