Chaine des Puys, France
Location: 45.5N, 2.8E
Elevation: 4,800 feet (1,464 m)
Chaine des Puys is a volcanic province in south-central France.
Eruptions began about 150,000 years ago. The most recent eruption was
about 4,040 B.C. Puy de Dome is the one of the youngest volcanic feature
in the province. The most recent eruption at Puy de Dome was about 5,760
B.C. Deposits at Puy de Dome indicate that the volcano had
Strombolian
and Pelean
type
eruptions. Photograph copyrighted and provided by
Steve O'Meara of
Volcano Watch International.
Volcanism began in the Massif Central of France about 20 million years
ago.
Compositions
include basalt,
andesite trachyte, and rhyolite. Volcanism far from the edges of
tectonic plates,
such as Chaine des Puys, is rare. Changes in the mantle may have led to
volcanism at Chaine des Puys. Several lines of evidence indicate
thinning of the crust and upwelling of the
asthenosphere.
The rising mantle "diapir" was probably a total of 30-60 miles
(50-100 km) in diameter. The question has been raised if a
hot spot
is involved but no definitive evidence has been found.
Sources of Information:
Camus, G., and Vincent, P.M., 1973, La Chaine des Puys: Premiere Journee,
p. 13-22.
Coisy, P., and Nicolas, A., 1978, Regional structure and geodynamics of
the upper mantle beneath the Massif Central: Nature, v. 274, p. 429-432.
Froidevaux, C., Brousse, R., and Bellon, H., 1974, Hot spot in France?:
Nature, v. 248, p. 749-751.
Hetier, J.M., Guillet, B., Brousse, R., Delibraia, G., and Maury, R.C.,
1983, 14C dating of buried soils in the volcanic Chaine des Puys, France:
Bulletin of Volcanology, v. 46, p. 193-202.
Krafft, M., 1974, Guide des Volcans d'Europe: Neuchatel, Delachaux &
Niestle, 412 p.
Simkin, T., and Siebert, L., 1994, Volcanoes of the World: Geoscience
Press, Tucson, Arizona, 349 p.
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