France
Chaîne des Puys
The Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault tectonic arena shows a number of geological features caused by a continental break-up.
This about 40km long segment of the West European Rift shows the effects of continental break-up on the landscape, such as the Chaîne des Puys volcanoes and the inverted relief of the Montagne de la Serre. The site has been an important place for studying classical geological processes since the 18th century.
Community Perspective: The Puy de Dôme is an easily accessible part of this site, with good overlooks over the landscape dotted with some 80 small dormant volcanoes. Hubert did his best to cover some additional noteworthy components.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault tectonic arena (ID: 1434)
- Country
- France
- Status
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Inscribed 2018
Site history
History of Chaîne des Puys
- 2014: Advisory Body overruled
- From Rejection to Referral
- 2014: Referred
- 2016: Advisory Body overruled
- IUCN proposed Rejection
- 2016: Referred
- 2018: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- WHS Type
- Natural
- Criteria
- viii
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- chainedespuys-limagnefault.com — Official Candidature website
Community Information
- Community Category
- Natural landscape: Mountain
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Depicted in Mizielinska Maps
See i.pinimg.com
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IUGS Geological Heritage Sites
The Holocene Puy-de-Dôme and Petit-Puy-… -
Tour de France
The Puy de Dôme was part of a stage dur…
Connections of Chaîne des Puys
- Geography
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Linear inscriptions
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Notable lakes
Gour de Tazenat: a volcanic crater formed by a phreatomagmatic eruption.
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- Trivia
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Hot Air Balloon rides
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Tour de France
The Puy de Dôme was part of a stage during several Tours, up and until 1988 (Stage 19) and in 2020, Stage 13.See bikeraceinfo.com
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Depicted in Mizielinska Maps
See i.pinimg.com
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- Ecology
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Tectonic processes
Criterion (viii) Continental drift, manifested through plate tectonics, is an essential paradigm for the history of the Earth as it explains the current make-up of oceans and continents and their past and future movements. The property is an exceptional illustration of the phenomenon of continental break-up, or rifting, which is one of the five major stages of plate tectonics.
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- World Heritage Process
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Natural sites filling gaps cited by IUCN
".. illustrate the overall continental break-up process and, thus, may becconsidered to fill a gap on the World Heritage List with regard to the theme of continental rifting." (AB ev) -
WHS with enclave
2 enclaves for 2 still active quarries -
Inscribed on a single criterion only
Crit VIII -
Inscribed at third attempt or more
2014 Ref, 2016 Ref, 2018 Inscr -
Controversial at inscription
IUCN recommended Not to Inscribe in 2014 and 2016, both times brought back to a Referral by the WHC. At inscription in 2018, IUCN did give a positive recommendation for the substantially changed nomination - though "IUCN is deeply concerned about the manner in which the referral process has been used (and essentially misused) in the case of this nomination. The evaluation of this nomination has been lengthy, spanning five years and involving a disproportionate level of human and financial resources. IUCN has documented some 16 meetings and exchanges with the State Party and the World Heritage Centre between the 2014 referral, and then a further 11 meetings and exchanges between the 2016 referral decision and this resubmitted nomination"
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- Constructions
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Railways
Panoramique des Dômes train to the summit of the Puy de Dôme
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- WHS on Other Lists
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Pritzker Architecture Prize
Hans Hollein (winner 1985): Vulcania museum and parkSee en.wikipedia.org
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IUGS Geological Heritage Sites
The Holocene Puy-de-Dôme and Petit-Puy-de-Dôme volcanoes
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- Timeline
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Oligocene
the 30-km-long Limagne fault escarpment as the expression of continental break-up, subsidence and sedimentation which took place between 37 and 25 Ma (million years ago) (AB Eval)
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- Science and Technology
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Muography
At Puy de Dôme, "for equipment testing and experiments"See en.wikipedia.org
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Scientific Developments
In 1648, Florin Périer, at the urging of Blaise Pascal, proved Evangelista Torricelli'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. (wiki)
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News
No news.
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Chaîne des Puys
- Aitia
- Alexander Barabanov
- alicemears
- Ammon Watkins
- Ana Lozano
- Angela Vandyck
- Anna Wludarska
- Argo
- Aspasia
- Atila Ege
- aureb30
- aurore25
- AustralLights
- BaziFettehenne
- Bin
- Caspar Dechmann
- Cheryl
- Christravelblog
- ClaraHH
- Clyde
- Coppi
- Csaba Nováczky
- Cyberczar
- Daniela Hohmann
- Daniel C-Hazard
- Daniel R-F
- d.dedisse@vogo.fr
- Delphine Delaunay
- Dimitar Krastev
- Dirk-pieter
- Dutchbirder
- Dwight Zehuan Xiao
- Els Slots
- Emilia
- Fabian Teusch
- fabi-ddorf
- Fan Yibo
- Filip Murlak
- Francky D'Hoop
- Gabbro
- giloudepuertorico
- Glubu
- Hasco
- Henri
- homadism
- Hubert
- Hurrvinek
- Iain Jackson
- isabellemarais
- Ivan
- Ivan Rucek
- Jakob Frenzel
- Janina Lehmann
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- Jasam
- Jean Lecaillon
- Jeanne OGrady
- Jens
- Jezza
- Jonas Kremer
- jonathanfr
- Joshuakirbens
- JoStof
- Julie July
- KarenBMoore
- Kbecq
- Kelly Henry
- Laetitia Yin
- Leontine Helleman
- Loic Pedras
- Lucas Del Puppo
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- Maciej Gil
- Marinemajor
- Matthewsharris
- MaxHeAnouBen
- Michiel Dekker
- Mikko
- Monica Tasciotti
- MoPython
- nikolasruffet
- Pascal Cauliez
- Pat Martin
- patphilly
- Patrik
- Paul Schofield
- Peltzi
- PeterA
- Peter Lööv
- Philipp Leu
- Philipp Peterer
- Piotr Wasil
- pontobaggins
- Richardleesa
- Riomussafer
- Roger Ourset
- Roland
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Roman Koeln
- Sabrina Liebehentschel
- Shijie ZHU
- Solivagant
- stephanvermeulen
- Stijn
- Szucs Tamas
- Thomas Buechler
- Thomas Harold Watson
- TimAllen
- Tsunami
- Vanessa Buechler
- Vlad Lesnikov
- WalGra
- Walter
- Wieland
- WILLIAM RICH
- Wojciech Fedoruk
- Wo_ko
- Yevhen Ivanovych
- Zoë Sheng
Community Reviews
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February 2022 - after a long drive from Chauvet we arrived late at night and parked our camper at a local tourist office. The next morning the Landscape was covered slighlty in snow. We drove to the valley station of Chaine de Puy and my daughter and me took the train on to the top. The volcanic snow-covered landscape was just gorgeous from up here. We could als spot the black Notre Dame du Port built from local volcanic stone. On top we still took the chance to get our hands into the snow. As it was colder than anticipated, took the trainride right down again.
The visit in winter is definitely special and to recommend. We continued our drive to Vichy after that.
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I visited this WHS towards the end of June 2019 on a very hot and sunny day. Originally I had already planned to visit almost two years ago, prior to inscription, and I had already bought my Puy de Dome return train ticket online (valid for 2 yrs and getting more expensive every year!). However, after postponing my road trip several times, I decided to visit as a convenient stopover before heading to the Frejus border between France and Italy.
Although the train departures are officially every 20 minutes during the summer season, when we visited departures were only taking place every hour, officially due to the high temperatures. The fact that there's only one small train going up and down the Puy all the time, means that more often than not, the official timetable might not be followed to reduce the possibility of the train breaking down. So keep this in mind when you plan your visit.
The Puy de Dome is a pelean volcano, a specific term used to describe energetic eruptions similar to those of the Pelee mountain in Martinique. The volcano is characterised by the lack of a proper crater. The lava builds up underneath the dome and the subsequent explosions typically cause glowing clouds. If you have more time available, the hike to the Puy de Come (1253m) and the Puy de Pariou (1209m) are worth doing but it won't provide any further interesting panoramic viewpoints. The latter is a strombolian volcano which …
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France has twice succeeded in turning a "not to inscribe" recommendation by IUCN into a referral (in 2014 and 2016). Both IUCN evaluations were harsh, but clear, the main objection was that „the integrity of the property in relation to its natural values is compromised by the long standing and on-going impacts of human use, which result in a landscape that is fundamentally not 'natural'” (cited from the IUCN evaluation 2014). But now, on the third attempt in 2018, all concerns are miraculously dispelled and IUCN recommends inscription, thus a safe bet at the WHC. Two active quarries have been removed from the nominated area, but apart from that, the boundaries have not changed in comparison to 2014. Now the focus is on criterion viii (outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history), criterion vii (superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance) has been withdrawn. Apparently that was enough to convince IUCN.
I visited the site in June 2013, it was the last step of a trip to Southern France. I have to say, I was surprised that it was nominated solely on basis of natural criteria. For a natural WHS it is a quite densely populated area. The human impact on the landscape is obvious: grazing sheep, active quarries, the huge antenna on the Puy de Dôme (already mentioned by Els), even a golf course. Well, there are more than 80 volcanoes (puys) in an area of about 30 km length and 4 …
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After two Referrals in 2014 and 2016 respectively, France will try once again to get the Tectono-volcanic ensemble of the Chaîne des Puys and Limagne Fault enlisted – probably already next year. It’s a natural site that covers a string of 80 dormant volcanoes and a parallel geological structure to the west that shows inverted relief.
When I prepared for this trip, I opted to visit the Gour de Tazenat – an almost perfectly round crater lake or “mare”. But when my rental car plans fell through, I had to find a way into the core zone of the Chaîne des Puys by public transport. Fortunately, its main landmark, the Puy de Dôme, lies just 15km west of the city of Clermont-Ferrand and I was able to catch a shuttle bus between Clermont-Ferrand and the Dôme Railway Station on the last day of the season.
The Puy de Dôme itself nowadays can only be accessed via the Panoramique des Dômes, a panoramic rack railway that covers the final km to the top. A return trip costs 12.30 EUR (in low season), though you can save a bit by riding up and walking down which supposedly takes some 50 minutes. At 10 a.m. I, unfortunately, found the Puy covered in the clouds. A temperature of -1 degrees Celsius was displayed at the departure station. Apparently, it’s best to sit to the left on the train (for the better views), but it didn’t matter much this day as nothing was …
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I visited the Chaîne des Puys during a trip along the enchanting Dordogne. We drove up the highest peak of the chain, the Puy de Dôme. From there you have a fabulous view over the whole chain that is quite impressive. There are dozens of vulcanos of different shapes: domes, maars and cones like the wonderful Puy Pariou. They are not very tall volcanic formations but I have never seen so many in such a small area.
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