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Account
of the first explorer The tour of the exhibition, which starts from “base camp” begins with THE RUMBLING GALLERY. I get there through a tunnel dug out of an ancient lava flow. Here, I discover the diversity of volcanic phenomena, through spectacular demonstrations of eruptions projected on multiple synchronized screens. Even the platform I am standing on moves, simulating earthquakes, while the ground beneath me opens up displaying gaping red hot cracks. It certainly is impressive! |
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Life
like eruptions THE GREAT SHOW ROOM can hold 400 people at the same time and an 8/70 mm film can be watched on a giant screen measuring 415 m2 (the equivalent of 2 000 television screens). |
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After
the eruption... life! All along the outside areas, in the middle of nature, the volcanic history of this site is displayed through a "NATURE TRAIL” and a “BOTANICAL PATH”. |
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Visit:
- A bus trip of about 30 minutes will drive us from Vulcania to
the top of the Puy de Dôme: a remake of
the Pascal experiment will be done, then the discovery will be
open
- The Puy de Dôme is one the first french nature sites with respect to the number of Visitors (Second site, the first one being the "Mont Saint Michel"): it is the symbol and the reference of all the people living around over a large area
Why ?
- Geographic location
- Geological formation
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It is the ATLAS giant of the 80 volcanoes that form the "Chaîne
des Puys":
1465 m high, 1 km above the Clermont-Ferrand city
- It
is not very old: only 10000 years old and classified as a "pelean"
type (like a dome)
(Its age has been measured by thermoluminescence in our Laboratory)
- Contributes to the History
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Religion place that fascinated our ancestors:
from the temple dedicated to the Mercury god (Ist century) to … witchcraft feasts
- Blaise Pascal experiment (1648)
- Exploit of the airman Eugène Renaux (In 1911, succeeding to a Michelin's brothers bet)
- Modern period: Spiral access road, Meteorological station, TV station…
- Sporting activities: "Tour de France", paragliding and delta winds…