Piton Sainte-Rose is a village located on the eastern coast of the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

island and department of Réunion in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

. It is part of the commune of Sainte-Rose.

History

In April 1977, Piton Sainte-Rose was devastated by a

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

from the

Piton de la Fournaise Piton de la Fournaise (; en, "Peak of the Furnace") is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island (a French overseas department and region) in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, al ...

, the active volcano of the island.Global Volcanism program
Smithsonian Institute. The village church was partly invaded by the lava flow but not destroyed.Fournaise Info
24 March 1977 eruption. The church was subsequently restored and renamed ''Notre Dame des Laves'' (Our Lady of the Lava). It is used for catholic services.Pierre Thomas
Laboratoire de Sciences de la Terre / ENS Lyon.

References

Populated places in Réunion {{Reunion-geo-stub