As Iceland fears the threat of a volcanic eruption and the awakening of their Fagradalsfjall volcano, we asked ourselves a simple question. Is there a volcano in Bouches-du-Rhône? To our surprise, the answer was yes, and it’s not that far from Marseille. Could it erupt? We tell you.
How many volcanoes are there in France?
In France, there are thousands of landforms, peaks and lakes of volcanic origin. Inactive volcanoes pose absolutely no risk to us. However, even if they are few in number, there are active volcanoes in France.
There are three of them, all in the French overseas territories. Two are located in the Lesser Antilles (La Soufrière in Guadeloupe and Montagne Pelée in Martinique), and the third on Reunion Island (Piton de la Fournaise). In mainland France, the Auvergne volcanoes of the Chaîne des Puys are “young” volcanoes, less than 10,000 years old. Considered “dormant” rather than “inactive”, this means they could well wake up one day…
Could the volcano near Marseille erupt?
Less than an hour’s drive from Marseille, north of Aix-en-Provence, lies a geological rarity: Provence’s only volcano, located in Rognes. Nestled on the private property of Domaine de Beaulieu, this extinct volcano, which shaped the landscape 17.5 million years ago, gave its name to the estate. Back then, Rognes was bordered by the sea, and the lava flow that emerged during the eruption left a unique imprint on the region.
Covering an area of 4 km², this ancient volcanic structure reveals an unusual rock for the region: basalt, which lends it an enigmatic atmosphere. The volcano is particularly maar-like, meaning that it forms a sort of lava-filled depression, almost flat at the surface. Difficult to spot for the uninitiated, the Beaulieu volcano remains a discreet but precious geological treasure of the PACA region.