A volcanic island near the Tropic of Capricorn
Version franτaise
Position
Reunion Island is in the southern hemisphere, in the middle
of the Indian Ocean, 800 Km East of Madagascar and 9300 Km
from Paris. Its exact position is 55░29 East and 21░5 South.
This small overseas French departement of roughly 2512 Km▓
in area, is part of the Mascarene Islands, along
with Mauritius and Rodrigues.
The islands of Tromelin, Juan de Nova, The Glorieuses,
Bassa de India and Europa are dependent on Reunion
Island.
These islands are only inhabited by scientists, but their
economic value is important : they give France access to
a wide area of territorial waters (useful for fishing).
Reunion is also a supply base for the Austral and
Antartic Territories of France, as well as being a French
military base.
Formation
Reunion is the perfect model of a shield-volcano as
studied in geology courses.
In fact, the island is made up of two volcanos :
The Piton des Neiges, which lies in the north-west
part of the island, is 3 to 4 millions years old and
stands at 3069m. Around it, three
natural cirques have collapsed : Mafate, Cilaos and
Salazie.
This volcano has been inactive for several
thousands of years.
The Piton de la Fournaise, which
is in the south-east part of the island, is
only 5000,000 years old. Its relative youth means that it is
clear of any vegetation, with an appearance of
lunar countrysides.
This volcano is still active. Its
eruptions are almost annual
but not very violent : the lava is fluid and the flows
generally stay in uninhabited areas.
The last big eruption that destroyed forests and a few
houses took place in March 1986. This lava flow
reached the ocean, and
even extended the island by several dozens of hectares.
The geological youth of the island explains its
steep relief ; high mountains and deep valleys, that do
not leave much room for crops, but offer splendid
waterfalls.
This youth can also be detected on the coasts :
lagoons in formation
on the western coast and steep relief of the Wild South
CapturΘ par MemoWeb α partir de http://www-eleves.int-evry.fr/~narassig/run/eng/island.html le 10/02/97
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