The Mightly Volcano (Piton de la Fournaise)

Piton de la Fournaise (French for "Peak of the Furnace") is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island (a French department) in the Indian Ocean. It is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along with Kīlauea in the Hawaiian Islands, Stromboli and Etna in Italy and Mount Erebus in Antarctica. A previous eruption began in August 2006 and ended in January 2007. The volcano erupted again in February 2007, on 21 September 2008, on 9 December 2010, which lasted for two days, and on 1 August 2015. The most recent eruption began on 14 July 2017. The volcano is located within Réunion National Park, a World Heritage site. Piton de la Fournaise is often known locally as le Volcan ("the Volcano"); it is a major tourist attraction on Réunion island.