This article is from the Monthly Science et Avenir – La Recherche n° 900, dated February 2022.

Auvergne is looking calm today. But 15,000 years ago, the gases and cap that accumulated in the Puy de Dom volcano erupted, releasing a terrifying energy that devastated the surroundings with its fiery clouds. Eruptions, earthquakes, floods, meteorites, violent storms … The history of France is marked by brutal events that have left deep scars.

geological reading of the landscape

Slow events have also caused significant alteration of rocks and surfaces, lifting of mountains, stretching of continents, opening of oceans. It is for a geological reading of the landscape that Professor Georges Fetterman of SVT invites us here with the help of 200 photographs. Another way to visit our country is to rediscover the stunning sites populated by lava flows, mineral springs or petrified corals. We hope this book will inspire smartphone applications!

,forces of nature in france“, Georges Fetterman, Delachoux and Niesley, 240p, €29.90

credit: Delachoux and Niesley

Find our previous articles on the scientific wealth of our regions.