Roccamonfina (volcano)
| Roccamonfina | ||
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| location | Caserta Province , Campania , Italy | |
| Coordinates | 41 ° 17 '37 " N , 13 ° 58' 9" E | |
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| Type | Stratovolcano | |
| Age of the rock | 650,000 years | |
| Last eruption | 50,000 years ago | |
The Roccamonfina is an extinct volcano in northern Campania in southern Italy. It is located in the Roccamonfina-Foce Garigliano Regional Park, established in 1993 . Roccamonfina is located within the caldera . The volcano was active 650,000 to 50,000 years ago and consists of an isolated large cone with a circumference of about 25 km between the Monti Aurunci , the plain and the valley of Garigliano, Monte Massico and Monti Trebulani. The central caldera is almost 6 km in diameter. The volcanic activity has subsided and there are still minor seismic movements and the emergence of mineralized water.
The Ciampate del Diavolo are a series of hominid footprints in frozen ash that were created during a volcanic eruption 345,000 years ago.
geology
The volcano originated as a stratovolcano in the Garigliano Rift Valley with a group of ejection openings on an area of 1000 km². Later, effusive activity was concentrated in the central area and formed a volcanic cone about 1,800 meters high, mostly made of tephra . Smaller cones, such as Monte Ofelio in the southwest, also emerged. About 400,000 years ago, the collapse of the eastern sector of the volcano formed a caldera that for some time formed a crater lake.
A second period of volcanic activity began with an explosive eruption 385,000 years ago, including eruptions from the former caldera. This phase lasted until about 285,000 years ago. The formation of the volcano also changed the course of the Garigliano and Volturno rivers . The Volturno was moving south-west in its present direction; The Garigliano no longer reached the sea and formed Lake Lirino until it eroded rocks near Suio about 200,000 years ago and assumed the current course.
Web links
- roccamonfina.net (Italian)