Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne, Regional natural park in Auvergne, France.
Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne is a protected area in the French Massif Central that covers more than 150 volcanic cones, peat bogs, and forested valleys. The terrain ranges from gentle hills with grazing land to jagged peaks of dark basalt rising above open plateaus.
The area was officially designated as a regional park in 1977 to protect the volcanic landscapes and rural communities. The volcanoes themselves went dormant thousands of years ago, with the last activity around 7,000 years in the past.
The name comes directly from the extinct volcanoes that shape the land and still influence how people live here today. Residents graze cattle on the highland pastures and draw mineral water from springs that have been part of the region for generations.
The visitor center at Château de Montlosier provides orientation and information about trails that run through all five volcanic ranges. The paths vary in length and difficulty, so it helps to plan ahead and be prepared for changing mountain weather.
Some of the crater bowls fill with snowmelt in spring and form shallow, temporary lakes that disappear again by summer. These shifting water features attract migratory birds that stop here on their way south or north.
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