Puy () is a geological term used locally in the Auvergne, France for a volcanic hill. The word derives from the

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

''puech'', meaning an isolated hill, coming from Latin ''podium'', which has given also ''puig'' in Catalan, ''poggio'' in Italian, ''poio'' in Galician and Portuguese. Most of the puys of central France are small

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...

s, with or without associated lava, whilst others are domes of trachytic rock, like the of the Puy-de-Dôme. The puys may be scattered as isolated hills, or, as is more usual, clustered together, sometimes in lines. The chain of puys in central France probably became extinct in late prehistoric time. Other volcanic hills more or less like those of Auvergne are also known to geologists as puys; examples may be found in the

Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

and in the small cones on the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, whilst the relics of puys denuded by erosion are numerous in the

Swabian Alps Swabian or Schwabian, or ''variation'', may refer to: * the German region of Swabia (German: "''Schwaben''") * Swabian German, a dialect spoken in Baden-Württemberg in south-west Germany and adjoining areas (German:"''Schwäbisch''") * Danube ...

of Württemberg, as pointed out by W. Branco. Sir A. Geikie has shown that the puy type of eruption was common in the British area in

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

and Permian times, as abundantly attested in central Scotland by remains of the old volcanoes, now generally reduced by denudation to the mere neck, or volcanic vent, filled with tuff and

agglomerate Agglomerate (from the Latin ''agglomerare'' meaning "to form into a ball") is a coarse accumulation of large blocks of volcanic material that contains at least 75% bombs. Volcanic bombs differ from volcanic blocks in that their shape records flui ...

, or plugged with lava.

References

* *Sir A. Geikie
''Ancient Volcanoes of Great Britain''
(1897). {{Authority control Volcanic landforms Geology of France

See also

References