Editing Mount Vesuvius (section)

==Formation==
[[File:Sommer, Giorgio (1834-1914) - n. 1167 - Napoli - Panorama (2).jpg|thumb|Famous view of Vesuvius and the historic [[Pine of Naples]] overlooking the city of Naples in the 19th century, by [[Giorgio Sommer]]]]
Vesuvius is a stratovolcano and was formed as a result of the collision of two [[tectonic plate]]s, the [[African plate|African]] and the [[Eurasian plate|Eurasian]]. The former was [[subducted]] at a [[convergent boundary]] beneath the latter, deeper into the earth. As the water-saturated sediments of the African oceanic plate were pushed to hotter depths inside the planet, the water boiled off and lowered the melting point of the [[upper mantle]] enough to partially melt the rocks. Because magma is less dense than the solid rock around it, it was pushed upward. Finding a weak spot at the Earth's surface, it broke through, thus forming the volcano.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

The volcano is one of several forming the [[Campanian volcanic arc]]. Others include [[Campi Flegrei]], a large [[caldera]] a few kilometers to the north-west, and [[Ischia]], a volcanic island {{convert|20|km}} to the west, and several undersea volcanoes to the south. The arc forms the southern end of a larger chain of volcanoes produced by the [[subduction]] process described above, which extends northwest along the length of Italy as far as [[Monte Amiata]] in Southern [[Tuscany]]. Vesuvius is the only one to have erupted in recent history, although some of the others have erupted within the last few hundred years. Many are either extinct or have not erupted for tens of thousands of years.