Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and other volcanos: in a series of letters, addressed to the Royal Society / from the Honourable Sir W. Hamilton ... To which are added, explanatory notes by the author, hitherto unpublished.

William Hamilton

Date:: 1772

Credit: Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and other volcanos: in a series of letters, addressed to the Royal Society / from the Honourable Sir W. Hamilton ... To which are added, explanatory notes by the author, hitherto unpublished. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$a curious obfervation. Upon exaimining the cuts and hollow ways made by currents of water in the neighbourhood of Vefu- vius and of other Volcanos, 1 had’ re- marked that there ‘lay frequently a ftratum- of rich. foil, of more or lefs depth, between the matter produced ‘by the ‘explofion ‘of fucceeding eruptions'[¢];\and I was na- turally led think to think, «-that-fuch a ftratum had grown in the-fame manner as the one abovementioned. over the pumice of Pompen. Where the ftratum of good foil was thick, it was evident to. me that many years had elapfed between one erup- | tion and that which fucceeded it. I donot pretend to fay, that a juft eftimate can be formed of the great age of Volcanos from {ce} The Abate Giulio Cefare Bruccini defcribes very elegantly, in his account of the eruption of Vefuvius in 16315 Ins; having made an obfervation of the like nature -—his words are (atter having particularized the different ftrata of erupted matter lying one over an- other)“ parendo appunto che la natura ci abbia vo. ‘+ luto’ lafciare’ feritto in quefta terra tutti gli incendii * memorabili raccontati delli.autori,” “4 this$