The Piton de la fournaise on the reunion island – Eruption of the volcano
A bit of history about the « Piton de la Fournaise »
Reunion island has two volcanoes : the « Piton des Neiges » or Snow Peak stands 3071 meters tall and the « Piton de la Fournaise » or the Peak of the Furnace is 2632 meters tall.
The Peak of the Furnace is the only one which remains active.
It corresponds to the top and oriental side of the massif of the Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano which constitute 40% of the island in its south-east part.
It’s one of the most active volcanoes of the planet.
With the frequency of its eruptions (on average once every nine months), it probably holds the worldwide rank of first
The average volume of its lava emission is estimated to 0,32 m3/s , and it’s ten times less productive than Kilauea located in Hawaii, but it’s similar to the Etna in Italy
Since the installation of the Volcanological Observatory in 1979, the Piton de la Fournaise is one of the most observed volcanoes in the world. The volcanoe’s acces is quite easy by utilizing the « Route du Volcan » (Volcano Road) or the « Route des Laves » (Lavas Road). Using these roads sometimes allows people to watch the show of lava projections and flows.
Like the volcanoes in Hawaii the Piton de la Fournaise is a hotspot volcano.
It is fueled by a mantle plume, which has been active for more than 65 million years. In the course of the drift of the tectonic plates, this plume first created the Trapps of Deccan (India), then the Laquedives (India), the Maldives, the Chagos Islands and finally the Mascarenes.
The Piton de la Fournaise offers some unique and unforgettable landscapes
« La Fournaise » (The Furnace) and its surroundings of « La Plaine des Sables » or « Le Grand Brûlé » offer some unique landscapes would lead you to believe they came straight from another planet, especially the lunar and mineral landscapes where life is sometimes non-existent
I’ve had lived numerous magical moments on this volcano. Not only, during the eruptions, of course..
The mere fact of being at the top of the volcano, alone in the world to contemplate the lights of a sunrise or a sunset are all unique moments that remain forever engraved in the memory of those who have the chance to live it.
For more information visit the official website here: fournaise.info