The gates of hell in France

In the southeastern part of the French island of Reunion, in the Indian Ocean, there is a giant shield volcano Piton de la Furnes, whose height exceeds 2600 meters. If you look at the pictures of his eruptions, you begin to think that this is the real gateway to hell on Earth.

The volcano formed over 530 thousand years ago. For a long time, the lava flows that it erupted mixed with the lava of another, older volcano, the Piton de Nege, located in the neighborhood and which is now considered extinct.

Throughout its history, the Piton de la Furnesa caldera has been destroyed three times. Currently, it reaches a size of about 8 kilometers in diameter.

It is Python de la Furnes that is depicted on the unofficial flag of the island.

This volcano in France is one of the most active volcanoes on the planet. Since the 17th century, the giant erupted more than 150 times. Since the 70s of the last century, over 20 eruptions have been recorded.

The last time the eruption of Piton de la Furnesa occurred in mid-May 2015.

For the most part, the lava does not go beyond the caldera, but when this happens, a red-hot river begins to flow along the slope of the volcano, usually moving towards the sea. If you look at the eastern slope of Piton de la Furnesa, you can see that it is broken by powerful flows of flowing lava.

The caldera itself is uninhabited, and there is practically no infrastructure near the nearest highways, so eruptions do not bring much damage.

Lava cools for a very long time - for several months, which is why during the rain steam starts to flow from it.

To climb the volcano you need to be in good physical shape, have sufficient supplies of water and food, and also be prepared for any weather changes, since here it changes extremely dramatically.