Puy de Dôme (, ) is a lava dome and one of the youngest

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

es in the region of Massif Central in central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. This chain of volcanoes including numerous

cinder cone A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, volcanic cone, conical landform of loose pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are forme ...

s, lava domes and maars is far from the edge of any

tectonic plate Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed durin ...

. Puy de Dôme was created by a Peléan eruption, some 10,700 years ago. It is approximately from

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

. The

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285.Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Puy de Dôme was an assembly place for spiritual ceremonies. Temples were built at the summit, including a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

temple of Mercury, the ruins of which were discovered in 1872. In 1648, , at the urging of his brother-in-law

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...

, confirmed

Evangelista Torricelli Evangelista Torricelli ( ; ; 15 October 160825 October 1647) was an Italian people, Italian physicist and mathematician, and a student of Benedetto Castelli. He is best known for his invention of the barometer, but is also known for his advances i ...

's theory that barometric observations were caused by the weight of air by measuring the height of a column of mercury at three elevations on Puy de Dôme. In 1875, a physics laboratory was built at the summit. Since 1956, a TDF () antenna is also located there. On the top of the mountain, there is a transmitter for FM radio and TV.

Tourism

A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2018, the Puy de Dôme is one of the most visited sites in the Auvergne region, attracting nearly 500,000 visitors a year. The summit offers expansive views of the Chaîne des Puys and

. It is a well-known centre for

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended be ...

. The summit can be reached by two pedestrian paths. The southern one, ("The Mule Trail"), was formerly a

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

. The northern one, ("The Goat Trail"), runs past the (Hen's Nest} crater. The GR 4 long-distance trail includes both paths to cross the mountain. Since May 2012, visitors can also go up the mountain by train with the , a rack railway. A road exists along the railway but it is closed to general traffic, except for the military, service vehicles or emergencies. At the top of the mountain, restaurants and shops are available as well as a visitor centre giving information on the history and geology of the area.

Geological heritage site

In respect of its key role in the development of

volcanology Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geology, geological, geophysical and geochemistry, geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin language, Latin ...

as a geoscience discipline, the Puy-de-Dôme and Petite-Puy-de-Dôme volcanoes were included by the

International Union of Geological Sciences The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to global cooperation in the field of geology. As of 2023, it represents more than 1 million geoscientists around the world. About Fo ...

(IUGS) in its assemblage of 100 "geological heritage sites" around the world in a listing published in October 2022.

Sport

Cycling

In more recent times, Puy de Dôme has served as an occasional stage finish in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

. It was here that in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Raymond Poulidor battled with

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

in one of the race's most famous moments, racing side by side up almost the entire climb; and that in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...

was punched in the kidney by a spectator. Between the 1988 and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Tour de France summit finishes, only the first part of the ascent to the Col de Ceyssat was covered in the 13th stage of the 2020 Tour de France. The 2012 construction of the Puy de Dôme rack railway narrowed the already very narrow road to the top. Because of the increasing logistical demands of the Tour, many thought that the Tour would never return after 1988 but the 9th stage of the 2023 Tour de France had a summit finish, which was won by Michael Woods. However, spectators were not permitted on the climb. The road is open to cyclists only during very limited periods when other vehicles are prohibited. In 2006 this was 7–9am on Wednesdays and Sundays between 1 May and 30 September. In 2017, it was the first checkpoint in the Transcontinental Race, a nonstop, unsupported bicycle race across Europe.

Motorsports

The

Circuit de Charade The Circuit de Charade, also known as Circuit Louis Rosier and Circuit Clermont-Ferrand, is a motorsport race track in Saint-Genès-Champanelle near Clermont-Ferrand in the Puy-de-Dôme Departments of France, department in Auvergne (region), Auve ...

was a

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

street circuit built in 1957 using pre-existing roads around the base of the Puy de Dôme.
- The venue hosted the French Grand Prix as well as the

French motorcycle Grand Prix The French motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The Grand Prix was held on different circuits in its history: on the Charade Circuit (Puy-de-Dôme) between 1959 and 1967, L ...

several times in the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1986, the track was shortened due to safety issues and was converted into a dedicated motorsport

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

hosting track days, driving schools as well as historic motorsport events.

Climate

While the lower areas of the mountain are firmly oceanic (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb''), Puy de Dôme has a humid continental (Köppen: ''Dfb'') with borderline

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

characteristics, thanks to its high elevation. Its classification is determined from its January average being well below the threshold (with as its usual lows), and from having over four months of average temperatures that exceed . (The requirement for this climate category is to have at least three such months.)

References

External links

Puy de Dôme on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puy de Dome Chaîne des Puys Mountains of the Massif Central Landforms of Puy-de-Dôme Holocene lava domes Dormant volcanoes Tourist attractions in Puy-de-Dôme Volcanoes of Metropolitan France Mountains of Puy-de-Dôme Landforms of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites