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Piton des Neiges
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Piton des Neiges | |
|---|---|
 Piton des Neiges, October 2003 |
|
| Elevation | 3,069 metres (10,069 feet) |
| Location | Réunion, Indian Ocean |
| Coordinates | |
| Type | Shield volcano |
| Age of rock | Pliocene |
| Last eruption | 20,000 years ago |
| Translation | Snow Peak (French) |
Piton des Neiges (Snow Peak) is a 3069m high inactive volcano on the island of Réunion, one of the volcanic islands in the Mascarene Archipelago in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Piton des Neiges was formed by the Réunion hotspot and emerged from the sea about two million years ago and has been inactive for 20,000 years. Deeply eroded, the volcano occupies the northwestern two thirds of Réunion, and is surrounded by three massive, mostly circular crater valleys, the Cirques.
The volcanic island is considered to be about three million years old (Pliocene); the other two islands in the archipelago, Mauritius and Rodrigues, are 7.8 million (Miocene) and 1½ million (Pleistocene) years old, respectively. The island possesses a high endemism of flowering plants (about 225); this has justified the creation of a biological reserve on the lower slopes of Piton des Neiges.
There are two medium-difficulty tracks leading up to the peak, one from the Cirque de Salazie and one from the Cirque de Cilaos. They meet at a staffed alpine hut about an hour's walk below the peak. Walkers often arrive there after a long day trek up the mountain, and start out very early the next day to experience the dawn at the summit.
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