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The Chaîne des Puys, prominent in the history of volcanology, form a N-S-trending chain of basaltic and trachytic cinder cones, basaltic maars, and trachytic lava domes in France's Massif Central that has been active into the Holocene. Construction of the present-day Chaîne des Puys began about 70,000 years before present (BP), and was largely completed by the beginning of the Holocene. Holocene eruptions constructed lava domes such as the Puy de Dôme, whose growth was accompanied by pyroclastic flows, cinder cones that fed lengthy lava flows, and maars. The latest well-documented activity took place about 6000 years BP near Besse-en-Chandesse and included the powerful explosions that formed the Lac Pavin maar. The dating of younger tephras has not yet been confirmed, and reports of historical eruptions as late as 1000 years BP have been discredited.

Summary of Holocene eruption dates and Volcanic Explosivity Indices (VEI).

Start Date	Stop Date	Eruption Certainty	VEI	Evidence	Activity Area or Unit
4040 BCE ± 150 years	Unknown	Confirmed		Radiocarbon (uncorrected)	Montcineyre, Estivadoux, Pavin
5760 BCE (?)	Unknown	Confirmed		Thermoluminescence	Puy de Come, Puy Montchier
6020 BCE ± 150 years	Unknown	Confirmed		Radiocarbon (uncorrected)	Puy de Lassolas, Puy de la Vache
6250 BCE (?)	Unknown	Confirmed		Thermoluminescence	Puy de Pariou
6550 BCE (?)	Unknown	Confirmed		Radiocarbon (uncorrected)	Puys Chopine, Vasset, Cratère Kilian
7020 BCE ± 100 years	Unknown	Confirmed		Radiocarbon (uncorrected)	Taphanel tephra
7740 BCE (?)	Unknown	Confirmed		Thermoluminescence	Puy Mey
7840 BCE ± 200 years	Unknown	Confirmed		Radiocarbon (uncorrected)	Western Puy de Dôme

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Synonyms
Auvergne, Monts d'
Cones
Feature Name	Feature Type	Elevation	Latitude	Longitude
Balmet, Puy	Cone
Bannieres, Puy des	Cone	967 m	45° 53' 0" N	2° 57' 29" E
Barme, Puy de	Cone	1102 m	45° 44' 0" N	2° 56' 0" E
Chalard, Puy	Cone	840 m	45° 58' 0" N	2° 58' 30" E
Charmont, Puy de	Cone	1138 m	45° 41' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Chaumont, Puy de	Cone	1111 m	45° 50' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Combegrasse, Puy de	Cone	1120 m	45° 40' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Come, Puy de	Cone	1253 m	45° 48' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Coquille, Puy de la	Cone	1152 m	45° 50' 31" N	2° 58' 0" E
Espinasse, Puy d'	Cone	952 m	45° 52' 30" N	2° 57' 29" E
Fraisse, Puy de	Cone	1120 m	45° 48' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Gonnard, Puy	Cone	854 m	45° 54' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Goules, Puy de	Cone	1146 m	45° 49' 0" N	2° 59' 0" E
Goulie, Puy de la	Cone	944 m	45° 52' 30" N	2° 58' 0" E
Gouttes, Puy de	Cone	1134 m	45° 50' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Grand Suchet, Le	Cone	1231 m	45° 47' 31" N	2° 57' 0" E
Jumes, Puy de	Cone	1161 m	45° 51' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Lantegy, Puy de	Cone
Laschamp, Puy de	Cone	1255 m	45° 44' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Lassolas, Puy de	Cone	1187 m	45° 43' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Louchadiere, Puy de	Cone	1198 m	45° 51' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Mercoeur, Puy de	Cone	1249 m	45° 43' 0" N	2° 57' 29" E
Mey, Puy de	Cone	1136 m	45° 43' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Montchal, Puy de	Cone	1094 m	45° 42' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Montchier, Puy	Cone	1210 m	45° 45' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Montcineyre, Puy de	Cone
Montenard, Puy de	Cone
Montgy, Puy de	Cone	1131 m	45° 42' 0" N	2° 56' 0" E
Montjugeat, Puy de	Cone	1142 m	45° 42' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Nugere, Puy de la	Cone	988 m	45° 52' 0" N	2° 59' 0" E
Pariou, Puy de	Cone	1209 m	45° 48' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Paugnat, Puy de	Cone	898 m	45° 53' 0" N	2° 59' 0" E
Pelat, Puy	Cone	1208 m	45° 43' 30" N	2° 57' 0" E
Petit Puy de Dome	Cone	1264 m	45° 47' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Petit Sarcoui	Cone	1038 m	45° 50' 0" N	2° 59' 0" E
Poucharet, Puy de	Cone	1164 m	45° 43' 0" N	2° 56' 0" E
Rodde, Puy de la	Cone	1127 m	45° 40' 0" N	2° 57' 29" E
Tartaret	Cone
Taupe, Puy de la	Cone	1074 m	45° 41' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Tenusset, Puy de     Tunisset, Puy de	Cone	1056 m	45° 51' 29" N	2° 58' 0" E
Thiolet, Puy     Verrieres, Puy de	Cone	937 m	45° 54' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Toupe, Puy de la	Cone
Tressous, Puy de     Trois Sols, Puy des	Cone	983 m	45° 52' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Vache, Puy de la	Cone	1167 m	45° 42' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Vichatel, Puy de	Cone	1094 m	45° 42' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Craters
Feature Name	Feature Type	Elevation	Latitude	Longitude
Anchal, Maar d'	Maar	750 m
Beauloup, Maar de	Maar	840 m	45° 50' 0" N	2° 54' 0" E
Beaunit, Cratere de	Maar	835 m	45° 54' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Ceyssat, Maar de	Maar	860 m	45° 46' 0" N	2° 54' 0" E
Clermont Chamalieres	Maar	390 m	45° 47' 0" N	3° 5' 0" E
Enval, Maar d'	Maar	911 m	45° 46' 0" N	3° 0' 0" E
Estivadoux, Maar d'	Maar
Montchatre, Maar de	Maar	920 m	45° 48' 0" N	3° 0' 0" E
Narse D'ampoix	Maar	1050 m	45° 40' 0" N	2° 56' 0" E
Narse D'espinsasse	Maar	1086 m	45° 39' 0" N	2° 56' 0" E
Pavin	Maar
Saint-Hippolyte, Cratere de	Maar	501 m	45° 54' 29" N	3° 4' 0" E
Tazenat	Maar	713 m	45° 59' 0" N	2° 59' 31" E
Villars, Maar de	Maar	750 m	45° 47' 0" N	3° 2' 0" E
Volvic, Maar de	Maar	732 m	45° 52' 0" N	3° 2' 0" E
Domes
Feature Name	Feature Type	Elevation	Latitude	Longitude
Chopine, Puy	Dome	1181 m	45° 50' 0" N	2° 57' 0" E
Clierzou	Dome	1197 m	45° 48' 0" N	2° 58' 0" E
Dome, Puy de	Dome	840 m	45° 46' 30" N	2° 58' 0" E
Grand Sarcoui	Dome	1147 m	45° 49' 0" N	2° 59' 0" E
Kilian Cratere	Dome
l'Aumone, Puy de     Petit Suchet	Dome	1198 m	45° 47' 31" N	2° 58' 0" E
Vasset, Puy	Dome

The Chaîne des Puys form a N-S-trending chain of cinder cones, maars, and lava domes in the Auvergne region of France. The Puy de Pariou crater in the foreground is a cinder cone that grew about 8200 years ago within an earlier tuff ring, whose rim appears immediately behind Pariou crater. A lava flow from Puy de Pariou traveled 8 km west to near the edge of the present-day city of Clermont-Ferrand. The sharper peak in the background is Puy de Chopine, whose complex history ended with domal uplift. Photo by Loïc Jahan (Parc de Volcans, published in Green and Short, 1971).
The southern flanks of 1464-m-high Puy de Dôme, the highest peak of the Chaîne des Puys volcanic chain, rise above farmlands. Puy de Dôme originated during a series of eruptions about 10,000 years ago. Explosive destruction of the eastern side (right) of a massive lava dome was followed by growth of a second dome. Crumbling of a spine capping the second dome formed the low mound of breccia at the summit of Puy de Dôme, which has been covered by a pyroclastic-flow deposit from nearby Killian volcano. Photo by Ichio Moriya (Kanazawa University).
The central part of the Chaîne des Puys volcanic chain in the Auvergne region of France is seen from the SW. Puy de Dôme is the rounded peak in the center, Puy de Côme is at the left, and Puy de Laschamp is the scoria cone at the right. The N-S-trending chain of basaltic and trachytic cinder cones, basaltic maars, and trachytic lava domes in France's Massif Central has been active into the Holocene. The latest well-documented activity took place about 6000 years ago. Photo by Ichio Moriya (Kanazawa University).

The following references have all been used during the compilation of data for this volcano, it is not a comprehensive bibliography. Discussion of another volcano or eruption (sometimes far from the one that is the subject of the manuscript) may produce a citation that is not at all apparent from the title.

Brousse R, 1973. Le volcanisme Quaternaire en France-chronologie des differentes phase eruptives de la Chaine des Puys au Quaternaire recent. Internatl Quat Assoc (INQUA) Cong, 9: 105-109.

de Goer A, Boivin P, Camus G, Gourgaud A, Kieffer G, Mergoil J, Vincent P M, 1991. Volcanologie de la Chaine des Puys. Paris: Inst Geog Natl, 127 p and 1:25,000 geol map.

Geunet P, 1986. Datation par l'analyse pollinique de l'explosion des volcans du groupe Pavin (Besse-en-Chandesse, Puy-de-Dome, France). 11 Reun Ann Sci Terre, Clermont-Ferrand, Ed Soc Geol France, p 85.

Guerin G, 1989. La thermoluminescence des plagioclases, methode de datation du volcanisme. Application au domaine volcanique Francais: Chaine des Puys, Monts-Dore, Cezallier, Bas-Vivarais. Unpublished PhD thesis, Univ Pierre et Marie Curie, 253 p.

Hetier J M, Guillet B, Brousse R, Delibrias G, Maury R C, 1983. 14-C dating of buried soils in the volcanic Chaine des Puys (France). Bull Volc, 46: 193-202.

Juvigne E, Bastin B, Beaulieu J L de, Etlicher M, Gewelt M, Gilot E, Goeury C, Janssen C R, Milcamps V, Van Leeuwen J, 1990. Tephrostratigraphy of the late glacial and the Holocene of the French Massif Central based on investigations in peat-bogs. IAVCEI 1990 Internatl Volc Cong, Mainz, Abs, (unpaginated).

Krafft M, 1974. Guide des Volcans d'Europe. Neuchatel: Delachaux & Niestle, 412 p.

Pelletier H, Delibrias G, Labeyrie J, Perquis M T, Rudel A, 1959. Mesure de l'age d'une des coulees volcaniques issues du Puy de la Vache (Puy de Dome) par la methode du carbone 14. CR Acad Sci Paris, Series-D, 214: 2221.

Rutten M G, 1969. The Geology of Western Europe. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 520 p.

Volcano Types Lava dome(s) Cinder cone(s) Maar(s) Tectonic Setting Rift zone Continental crust (> 25 km) Rock Types Major Basalt / Picro-Basalt Trachybasalt / Tephrite Basanite Minor Trachyandesite / Basaltic trachy-andesite Trachyte / Trachyandesite Population Within 5 km Within 10 km Within 30 km Within 100 km 323,392 323,392 427,221 1,577,243

Affiliated Databases Large Eruptions of Chaîne des Puys Information about large Quaternary eruptions (VEI >= 4) is cataloged in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions (LaMEVE) database of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA). WOVOdat WOVOdat is a database of volcanic unrest; instrumentally and visually recorded changes in seismicity, ground deformation, gas emission, and other parameters from their normal baselines. It is sponsored by the World Organization of Volcano Observatories (WOVO) and presently hosted at the Earth Observatory of Singapore. EarthChem EarthChem develops and maintains databases, software, and services that support the preservation, discovery, access and analysis of geochemical data, and facilitate their integration with the broad array of other available earth science parameters. EarthChem is operated by a joint team of disciplinary scientists, data scientists, data managers and information technology developers who are part of the NSF-funded data facility Integrated Earth Data Applications (IEDA). IEDA is a collaborative effort of EarthChem and the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS). Smithsonian Collections Search the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences collections database. Go to the "Search Rocks and Ores" tab and use the Volcano Name drop-down to find samples.