Stamp - Piton de la Fournaise

Its name is obviously evocative: the Piton de la Fournaise, the great volcano of the island of La Réunion in the Mascareignes archipelago of the Indian Ocean. It is the counterpart to the Piton des Neiges, an ancient volcano with which it shared volcanic activity for almost 500,000 years. Since the latter's extinction, it has reigned over the island, occupying 25% of its surface area, with a diameter of 30 km and a beautiful collapse zone, known as the Fouqué enclosure, surrounding its main crater, the Dolomieu crater. All around is a lunar landscape, regularly reinvented as the Piton is the world's most active volcano in terms of eruptions. On average, it has erupted every 15 months since the 18th century, when it was first observed. The volcano's intense activity and impressive lava flows are sure to attract fans of nature's great spectacles, and have earned the site a place on UNESCO's World Heritage List. However, these eruptions, called effusive because they flow relatively slowly, are far less dangerous than those of other explosive massifs such as those in the Pacific chains. This is due to the very nature of the site, as the Piton de la Fournaise is involved in hot-spot volcanism rather than fault volcanism, and therefore not linked to the workings of the great tectonic plates. Now a national park, the area offers the public spectacular views, from the Plaine des Sables to the forest, rising to the Pas de Bellecombe, where the great mineral plain of the Enclos Fouqué begins, culminating at 2,630 m at the top of the crater. This is followed by the Grandes Pentes, which slopes back down to the coast and the Grand Brûlé area, where the Route des Laves winds its way. A magical place, therefore, linked to a geological scale beyond our understanding.

Création Geneviève Marot d'après photo © Michel Barberon / OnlyFrance.fr