Ischia

Ischia
View of Ischia from Procida.
Highest point
Elevation	789 m (2,589 ft)
Coordinates	40°43′53″N 13°53′45″E / 40.7313°N 13.8957°E / 40.7313; 13.8957Coordinates: 40°43′53″N 13°53′45″E / 40.7313°N 13.8957°E / 40.7313; 13.8957
Geography
Location	Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy
Geology
Mountain type	Complex volcano
Last eruption	January to March 1302

Ischia

Geography
Location	Tyrrhenian Sea
Area	46.3 km2 (17.9 sq mi)
Highest elevation	789 m (2,589 ft)
Highest point	Mount Epomeo
Administration
Italy
Region	Campania
Metropolitan City	Naples
Largest settlement	Ischia (pop. 18,253)
Demographics
Population	62,027 (2009)
Pop. density	1,339.7 /km2 (3,469.8 /sq mi)

Ischia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈiskja]) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal, it measures approximately 10 km (6 miles) east to west and 7 km (4 miles) north to south and has about 34 km (21 miles) of coastline and a surface area of 46.3 square kilometres (17.9 sq mi). It is almost entirely mountainous; the highest peak is Mount Epomeo, at 788 metres (2,585 feet). The island is very densely populated, with 60,000 residents (more than 1300 inhabitants per square km).

Ischia is the name of the main comune of the island. The other comuni of the island are Barano d'Ischia, Casamicciola Terme, Forio, Lacco Ameno, and Serrara Fontana.

Ischia's main industry is tourism, centering on thermal spas that cater mostly to European (especially German) and Asian tourists eager to enjoy the fruits of the island's natural volcanic activity, its hot springs, and its volcanic mud.

The roughly trapezoidal island is formed by a complex volcano immediately southwest of the Campi Flegrei area at the western side of the Bay of Naples. The eruption of the trachytic Green Tuff ignimbrite about 56,000 years ago was followed by caldera formation. The highest point of the island, Monte Epomeo (788 m), is a volcanic horst consisting of a Green Tuff ignimbrite deposit that was submerged after its eruption and then uplifted. Volcanism on the island has been significantly affected by tectonism that formed a series of horsts and grabens; at least 800 m (2,624.67 ft) of uplift has formed as a result of resurgent doming during the past 33,000 years. Many small monogenetic volcanoes were formed around the uplifted block. Volcanism during the Holocene produced a series of pumiceous tephras, tuff rings, lava domes, and lava flows. The latest eruption of Ischia, in 1302, produced a spatter cone and the Arso lava flow, which reached the NE coast.