Naples is located in the Campania region by the Almafi coast, which consists of rocky coastal cliffs and formations such as caves, arches, stacks, and coastal valleys.
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| Located in the bay of Naples, these caves are over 100 ft tall! Photo credit: Stuck in Customs Photo Blog |
Marine erosion is the sculptor of these caves, who carved its way through weaker zones of rock. The Bay of Naples is made up of many limestone coasts where the sea was able to carve away at cracks and joints, and widen gaps that may have began as solution caves before the Holocene marine transgression. Solution caves are often identified with limestone, and are created when rock is dissolved by water with natural acids, such as H2CO3 (carbonic acid).
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| Photo Credit: Stuck in Customs Photo Blog |
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| In the Bay of Napoli. Photo Credit: Stuck in Customs Photo Blog |
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| Arches off of the island of Capri located in the Campania region shared by Naples. The formations you see here are the strong zones of the rock that haven't yet fallen or degraded by wave action. Photo credit: Masterfile.com |
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| Another view of the arches of Capri just off the coast of Naples! Photo credit: The Happy Explorer at thehappyexplorer.com. Sounds like a good person to vacation and explore with. . . |
Stacks are the next formation that occur after arches, and are formed when the roof of an arch rises to the point where the ceiling gives way and collapses. Wind and rain can also contribute to this process. Stacks will also continue to be eroded by marine erosion, and will eventually become a "stump" and a "basement platform".
Here is a stack located in the Bay of Napoli. At one point it was a part of the cliff, but after being a support of a cave and then an arch, it was the only part left standing after the arch's ceiling collapsed.
The formations of caves, arches, and stacks go through a weathering-limited process.
Here is a nice little chart that goes through the different formations!
Now, when taking a look at the coastline near Naples, Italy, you can see these separate formations all in the big picture!
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| Here you can see the terrace, wave-cut platforms, and the sea cliff, along with a distant arch and sea stack! Photo credit: images.travelpod.com |
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| Photo credit: clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202 |
Let's not forget about the volcanic site! Another highly distinctive characteristic of Naples, Italy is the formation of Mt. Vesuvius and the caldera that surrounds it. The cone of Mt. Vesuvius began in the caldera of Mt. Somma, which erupted 17,000 years ago. These volcanoes sit on a subduction zone that resulted from the convergence of the African and the Eurasian plates many thousands of years ago.
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| Vesuvius in the context of the convergence of the Eurasian and African plates Photo credit: geology.com |
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| Here you can see the cone of Vesuvius sitting in the Somma Caldera. Photo Credit: geo.arizona.edu |
Vesuvius is a dangerous and unpredictable volcano, and many fear its next eruption with the fact that it lies in a very populated area.
Volcanos aren't the only concern - landslides are common on the western slopes of Italy as well! Steep slopes, waves, drainage problems, and loosened soil from volcanic areas all contribute to the likelihood of landslides taking place in this part of Italy. Here's a video:
In trying to understand how the coastline and volcanic area relate to each other, we can predict the changes of the landscape surrounding Naples that will occur in the future. Here are some predictions:
10 Years From Now
It is very likely that the area surrounding Naples will experience a landslide. According to the article titled "The May 1998 Landslides in the Sarno Area in Southern Italy: Rethinking Disaster Theory", deforestation of mountain slopes, lack of flood and landslide control systems, and extensive illegal building are all issues that are still being handled.
A landslide would probably take place during the rainy months of the year. This transport-process would make the erosion of the coastline happen more quickly.
A landslide would probably take place during the rainy months of the year. This transport-process would make the erosion of the coastline happen more quickly.
100 Years From Now
Perhaps by this time Vesuvius will have undergone another eruption. Vesuvius is known to experience smaller scale Strombolian activity every few decades. This eruption would lead to more landslides as vegetation would be cleared and there would be an increase in loose rocks and sediments.
Also, perhaps one of the arches will fall and result in sea stacks. Although 100 years isn't far away, the weathering of a coastline is constant because of the salt and wave movement.
1,000 Years From Now
It is in this time frame that the coastline will undergo changes through a weathering-limited process. Perhaps new caves will be carved, new arches will be formed, and sea stacks will stand where arches once stood.
Generally, Vesuvius experiences larger, Plinian eruptions every few thousand years. If an eruption of this size were to occur, the volcano might not be able to support the weight of the rock above it, and a ring fault could form along the outside of it, bringing the center of the volcano to collapse into a caldera, like Mt. Somma once did. Inside this caldera, a lake may form, along with a new volcanic cone.
The location of Naples, Italy is a geographic site full of beauty, danger, and an ever-changing appearance.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1342820/Vesuviuss-big-daddy-supervolcano-Campi-Flegrei-near-Naples-threatens-Europe.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=raVksgTZQSAC&pg=PT104&lpg=PT104&dq=are+rocky+coasts+weathering-limited?&source=bl&ots=Se2TXZdn4q&sig=8wgY7o8FAhhfKh7dJN7eHEleLnU&hl=en#v=onepage&q=are%20rocky%20coasts%20weathering-limited%3F%20italy&f=false
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/research/qr/qr131/qr131.html
http://geobytesgcse.blogspot.com/2007/08/coastal-erosion-landforms-features-and.html
http://geology.com/volcanoes/vesuvius/
http://saarc-sdmc.nic.in/pdf/landslide.pdf
