Key facts
- Elevation
- max. 1,464 m (4,803 ft) at Puy de Dôme
- Coordinates
- 45°30′N 2°48′E / 45.5°N 2.8°E / 45.5; 2.8
- Location
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes , France
- Parent range
- Massif Central
- Rock age
- From 7,000 to 95,000 years
- Mountain type s
- cinder cones , lava domes , and maars
- Last eruption
- 4040 BC ± 150 years
- Official name
- Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault tectonic arena
- Type
- Natural
- Criteria
- (viii)
- Region
- Western Europe
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Country
- France
- Located in
- Puy-de-Dôme
- Elevation
- 1465
- Highest point
- Puy de Dôme
- Material used
- volcanic rock
- Image
- Puy de Dome, Massif Central, France.jpg
- Length
- 45
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Chaîne des Puys
- Commons gallery
- Chaîne des Puys
- mountain range
- Massif Central
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Chaîne des Puys ( French: [ʃɛːn de pɥi]; lit. 'Chain of the Puys') is a north-south oriented volcanic field, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) long, comprising 48 cinder cones, eight lava domes, and 15 maars and explosion craters, in the Massif Central of France. Its highest point is the lava dome of Puy de Dôme, located near the middle of the chain, which is 1,465 metres (4,806 ft) high. The name of the range comes from a French term, puy, which refers to a volcanic mountain with a rounded profile. A date of 4040 BC is usually given for the last eruption of a Chaîne des Puys volcano.
An outstanding example of plate tectonics in action and continental rifting, the Chaîne des Puys region became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chaîne des Puys” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.