Piton de la Fournaise

Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise is a shield volcano
Highest point
Elevation2,632 m (8,635 ft)
Coordinates21°14′33″S 55°42′32″E / 21.24250°S 55.70889°E / -21.24250; 55.70889
Naming
English translationPeak of the Furnace
Language of nameFrench
Geography
Piton de la Fournaise is located in Réunion
Piton de la Fournaise
Piton de la Fournaise
Geology
Rock age530,000 year
Mountain typeShield volcano
Last eruptionAugust 2023
Climbing
First ascent21 September 1751 [1]
Orthoimagery

Piton de la Fournaise (French: [pitɔ̃ də la fuʁnɛz]; English: "Peak of the Furnace") is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island, a French overseas department and region, in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along with Kīlauea in the Hawaiian Islands, Stromboli and Etna in Italy and Mount Erebus in Antarctica. A previous eruption began in August 2006 and ended in January 2007. The volcano erupted again in February 2007, on 21 September 2008, on 9 December 2010, which lasted for two days,[2] and on 1 August 2015.[3] The most recent eruption began on 15 September 2022.[4] The volcano is located within Réunion National Park, a World Heritage Site.

Residents of Réunion sometimes refer to Piton de la Fournaise simply as le Volcan ("the Volcano"). It is a major tourist attraction.

  1. ^ Active Volcanoes of the Southwest Indian Ocean: Piton de la Fournaise and Karthala, Patrick Bachelery, Springer, 2016 OCLC 928762285
  2. ^ "Le Piton de la Fournaise en direct (9 December 2010 – 9 April 2011)" (in French). Observatoire volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011.
  3. ^ Klemetti, Erik (2014). "New Eruption at Piton de la Fournaise on Reunion Island". Wired. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Réunion.fr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).