Piton de la Fournaise Erupts Again

September 23, 2016

Volcano and the setting moon -Panorama (1)

September 2016 Viewer's Choice

Photographer: Takma Lherminier
Summary Author: Takma Lherminier

Shown above is Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano in Réunion National Park, on Réunion island (France). It's one of the world's most active volcanoes. Known locally as Le Volcan (The Volcano); it's a major tourist attraction on Réunion and a World Heritage Site.

On September 11, 2016, Piton de la Fournaise woke up again. This time the eruption is taking place at the northern side of the volcano (left side of photo). Thus, it's visible from the Pas de Bellecombe, conveniently accessible by car so that everyone can enjoy the show. To get a better view, one can walk about 40 minutes to the Piton Partage, staying outside of the 5 mi (8 km) wide caldera. Piton de la Fournaise (center of photo) is here lit by the setting Moon (at right). This 10-shot panorama was taken on September 12, 2106.