Minerals
230 minerals have been classified in the Vesuvius National Park; 62 represent the typical areas of this volcano and 6 are still exclusive of the area: these data make the location one of the most interesting in the world.
The large quantity of minerals in the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex depends on the different formations of the minerals themselves, which originated from effusive and explosive eruptions or fumarolic activities.
Among the minerals produced by explosive eruptions, which are represented by blocks taken from the eruptive conduit and the magma chamber and rejected on the surface by paroxysmal eruptive events, you can find aragonite, analcime, phillipsite-K, thomsonite, “garnet”, meionite, spinel, vesuvianite, magnetite, zircon, “pyroxene” and others. Among the minerals produced by effusive eruptions, there are those of lava flows (augite, leucite, magnetite, “olivine”, sanidine, sodalite, vonsenite and so on). Among the minerals produced by fumaroles, it’s worth mentioning aftitalite, cotunnite, ferruccite, tenoryl and others.
Leucite: it abounds in the lava of Mount Vesuvius and Somma, easily recognizable inside lava flows, lapilli or volcanic bombs like specks of light colour (greyish white) made up of crystals of even large dimensions.