If the young chain of Puys du Massif Central, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is made up of 80 volcanoes, it is more than 300 of their cousins that provide the Haute-Loire with this atypical relief. And they astonish us by their very diversified forms: volcanic cones with craters of Mont Bar, lava domes of Meygal and Mézenc, lava flows and explosion craters of the Massif du Mézenc, chimneys of the Puy-en-Velay basin, juices of Emblavez it.
Which volcanoes to visit in Haute-Loire?
No less than 300 volcanoes in Haute-Loire. To help the volcanologist in you, we have listed a classification worthy of the greatest geography lessons.
The selection of the most emblematic volcanoes
01
Cratered volcanoes
Particularity: The lava was projected and it fell. This is what formed the crater, these are the youngest volcanoes!
02
Explosions Volcanoes
Magma rose to the surface and encountered spring water. This explosive collision formed a very large crater where there are lakes and peat bogs today.
03
Volcanoes under lakes
Originality: These volcanoes were born under ancient lakes. Today with erosion and the disappearance of water, only hard rock remains, often a volcanic chimney.
04
Dome Volcanoes
Singularity: They are volcanoes without a crater. Pasty lava has accumulated inside a volcano forming a dome.
05
Lava flows
External sign: From different types of volcanoes, lava flows have filled the valleys.