Puy-de-Dôme (mountain)

Puy-de-Dôme, a cumulo-dome (tholoid) volcano, is one of the youngest volcanoes in the Chaîne des Puys region of Massif Central in south-central France. Curiously, this chain is located far from the edge of any tectonic plate.

It is located approximately 10 km away from Clermont-Ferrand. The Puy-de-Dôme département is named after the volcano.

• Location: 45.5N, 2.8E
• Elevation: 4,800 feet (1,464 m)
• Most recent eruption: ca. 5760 BC.

History

In pre-Christian Europe, Puy-de-Dôme served as an assembly place for spiritual ceremonies. Temples were built at the summit, including a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Mercury, the ruins of which were discovered in 1873.

In 1648, Florin Périer , at the urging of Blaise Pascal, famously 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.

In 1875, a physics laboratory was built at the summit. Since 1956, a TDF (Télédiffusion de France ) antenna is also located there.

In more recent times, Puy-de-Dôme has served as a frequent stage finish in the Tour de France. It was here that in 1964 that Poulidor famously battled with Jacques Anquetil. Also on this peak in 1975 Eddy Merckx was punched in the stomach by a spectator.