Campi Flegrei does not look like a volcanic mountain in general, but is a bowl-shaped depression filled with a crater. Smelly steam coming out of vents, mud coming out of pools, and small earthquakes sent shock waves through the hundreds of thousands of residents living at the mouth of the volcano. Mythology states that Campi Flegrei, which means “burning fields” in Italian, is associated with the gates of hell.
The mountain is also nicknamed a “super volcano,” a rare informal label given to volcanoes that produce the most powerful eruptions in Earth's history. The Campi Flegrei super explosion occurred about 39,000 years ago and spewed gas and nearly a trillion gallons of molten rock, blocking sunlight and triggering intense cooling. The most recent, much smaller eruption occurred in 1538 and created a mound about 120 meters high.
earthquake activity in recent months at Campi Flegrei more than 2,500 magnitude 4.3 earthquakes since September has raised concerns that the volcano will experience another major earthquake in the near future. But researchers say this is not how supervolcanoes work and raise doubts that the explosion was prophetic.
