Piton de la Fournaise

Piton de la Fournaise Facts

• Most notably, the astounding location you see here, is named Piton de la Fournaise. Furthermore, the incredible site currently remains one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
• This ranking therefore places it with the likes of Mount Erebus, Stromboli, Mt. Etna, and Kilauea. Thus, while magnificent, it nevertheless remains an extremely hazardous location.
• However, local officials take every precaution possible with the safety of local population and tourists alike. To than end, the volcano is closely monitored at all times by numerous instruments.
• Finally, in an ironic twist, this marvelous yet dangerous site sits within a National Park. This serves as the principal reason for the extreme diligence of the authorities in observing its activities.

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Piton de la Fournaise Physical Description

Firstly, the sincerely awesome Piton de la Fournaise, cannot be compared with your typical volcano. That’s because its gigantic caldera has an astonishing diameter of roughly 5 mi (8 km).

Secondly, in case this does not impress the reader, it also boasts other incredible dimensions. That’s because it stands an imposing 8,635 ft (2,632 m) tall. In addition, inside a 1,300 ft (400 m lava shield sits.

Furthermore, numerous other geological features line the inside of the enormous crater. These primarily consist of smaller craters and volcanic features known as spatter cones.

Finally, simply adding to its impressiveness, another feature exists. On the southeast side of the caldera, it has been breached by the sea.

Piton de la Fournaise Location and Activity

The fantastic but dangerous Piton de la Fournaise formed in a rather remote location. It sits on the eastern side of Reunion Island, located in the Indian Ocean, near Africa. This places it east of Madagascar.

This stunning volcano formed roughly 530,000 years ago, so it is comparatively young. It further represents only a portion of what experts call the Reunion hotspot, active for nearly 66 million years.

Though extremely active, this volcano typically produces quite slow-moving flows, as opposed to violent eruptions. Therefore, the majority of its activity falls into the category of basaltic flows. Over 150 have been recorded.

However, while most remain inside the caldera, a few do leave its boundaries. The most recent of these occurred in February of 2019. But, in all of this, only 6 have reached beyond the caldera.

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