Photo : Thalia Gylonno / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Chaîne des Puys
The Chaîne des Puys, also called the Monts Dôme, lines up over nearly 45 kilometres about eighty volcanoes of varied shapes: scoria cones, lava domes and explosion craters follow one another on the plateau overlooking Clermont-Ferrand. This ensemble, one of the youngest and best preserved in Europe, keeps the memory of a volcanic activity that died out less than 7,000 years ago.
In 2018, UNESCO inscribed the Chaîne des Puys, together with the Limagne fault, as World Heritage as a "major tectonic site", thereby recognising the exceptional scientific value of this site that long served as a laboratory for the study of volcanism and plate tectonics. The Puy de Dôme, the highest summit of the chain, is its high point and the most visited site.
Many hiking paths allow you to cross the chain, while the Vulcania park, devoted to discovering volcanism, offers an educational gateway to the site. The villages that border it, including Orcines, are classic starting points for exploring it.
