This Breathtaking Volcano Is Over 530,000 Years Old And Still Spews Lava

One of the most active volcanoes, the Piton de la Fournaise, which is situated on the eastern side of Reunion Island (a French department) in the Indian ocean, has been spewing lava ever since. It erupted for 150 times since the 17th century.

#wallpaper #Jonathan Payet, #drone, #France, #lava, #volcano pic.twitter.com/o6uEDxZdlY

— RandomBoard (@Rdm_Board) January 21, 2017

Piton de la Fournaise is located within the Reunion National Park, which a World Heritage site. It is dubbed as le Volcan (The Volcano). It is the major tourist attraction on Reunion Island.

Piton de la Fournaise, Reunion! <3 1 FEBRUARY 2017. Day 1 of activity at Piton de la Fournaise, Reunion. By Jonathan PAYET @DroneCopters pic.twitter.com/vqCK0J6IoP — Jeannie Curtis (@VolcanoJeannie) February 1, 2017

The volcano last erupted on Jan. 31, 2017. Its previous eruption began in August 2006 and ended in January 2007. The eruption did not stop there as it spewed lava and ash again in February 2007, Sep. 21, 2008, December 2010 and Aug. 4, 2015. It is more than 530,000 years old and about 8,633 feet in height.

Meanwhile, the Your Shot photographer Jonathan Payet has captured images of the spectacular volcano eruption. They show the furnace in amazing details. He was flying a drone and wore a gas mask because of the toxic sulfur dioxide the volcano ejected.

Fly Over Spectacular Piton de la Fournaise #volcano #eruption by Jonathan Payet @DroneCopters https://t.co/Tn8vlkgrKv via @NatGeo #drones

— Haleh Tavakol (@HalseyJoon) February 24, 2017

On the other hand, with the difficulties and danger he faced on the island, his works have been recognized. He won third place in his photography of Piton de la Fournaise in July 2016. It was a drone photography contest sponsored and co-judged by National Geographic in the category of nature-wildlife.