World Map › Chaîne Des Puys
Volcano
Chaîne des Puys
Lava dome · 1,464 m · France
Chaîne des Puys sits on the Eurasian Plate, in a rift zone. 8 eruptions are known since the end of the last ice age, the most recent in 4040 BCE.
The Chaîne des Puys lines up about 80 volcanoes over some forty kilometres west of Clermont-Ferrand. Its cinder cones, domes and maars are remarkably well preserved, with the Puy de Dôme towering above them.
The last eruptions took place about 6,000 years ago. Together with the Limagne fault, the area has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018 for what it shows about a continent pulling apart.
- Elevation
- 1,464 m
- Type
- Lava dome
- Tectonic Setting
- Rift zone, continental crust
- Dominant Rock
- Basalt / Picro-Basalt
- Plate
- Eurasian Plate
- Country
- France
- Last Eruption
- 4040 BCE
- Known Eruptions (Holocene)
- 8
Nearby Cities
Cities of more than 20,000 people within 100 km. At least 233,000 people live in those within 30 km.
- 8 kmClermont-Ferrand233,000 people
- 50 kmVichy43,000 people
- 88 kmRoanne73,000 people
Eruption Timeline
Each bar is an eruption; its height shows its explosivity (VEI 0 to 8).
Eruption Uncertain Date
Sources : Global Volcanism Program, 2026. Volcanoes of the World (v. 5.4.0; 7 Aug 2026), Smithsonian Institution, doi:10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW5-2026.5.4 (volcano.si.edu) · NOAA NCEI · USGS ·