| Abstract |
The Piton de la Fournais (2,635 m) is the active basaltic shield volcano of Reunion Island (55°43'E, 21°17'S) in the western Indian Ocean. As with Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, this active volcano build up on the western flank of an older volcano, Piton des Neiges (3,069 m ) whose activity dates back 22,000 years B.P. Geothermal investigations by BRGM (1978 to 1983) lead to a drilling program in 1985-86 inside the last U shaped caldera (8 x13 km) called Enclos, beside the seashore, on historical lava flows (20 to 100 years old). Careful archives investigations on historical volcanic activity for 3 centuries have been carried out since 1980 by the Indian Ocean Geological survey (BRGM) in La Reunion to first evaluate the hazards to drilling and to future equipment funnelling steam toward the geothermal plant, planned to be set up on the external rim of the caldera. |