How is volcanic ash made?
It starts out as just another afternoon in the shadow of a volcano, full of everyday commerce, humor and toil. Then suddenly everything takes a turn for the worse. The Earth shakes, and the air trembles with a monstrous explosion. Before you know it, the sky darkens and thick torrents of volcanic ash begin to fall from the sky, covering everything in a heavy, gray blanket of dust. All that ash may sound like more of a mess than a real danger, but just consider the sheer destructive power of a pyroclastic flow. This mass of ash, gas and rock fragments can travel at speeds approaching 125 mph (200 kph). And with internal temperatures of 752 to 1,472 degrees F (400 to 800 degrees C), it can pretty much bake anything in its path. Archaeologists studying the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius frequently discovered fractured skulls among Pompeii’s dead — signs of an exceedingly swift and brutal end. The heat
