Puy de Lemptégy, Dormant volcano in Puy-de-Dôme, France
Puy de Lemptégy is a scoria cone in the Chaîne des Puys, in Saint-Ours-les-Roches west of Clermont-Ferrand. Quarrying for pouzzolane since the end of World War II has cut into the cone, exposing two volcanic chimneys, Lemptégy 1 and Lemptégy 2, and lateral dykes. The cut face shows horizontal bands of dark red and brown scoria below a dark grey to black layer, stepping up toward the flat top.
The volcano formed about 30,000 years ago through volcanic eruptions. After World War II, it became a quarry for reconstruction materials before eventually becoming a public learning space.
The site functions as a place where visitors learn to read rock layers and understand how volcanoes work. You can touch volcanic materials and see how the volcano was shaped from within.
The former quarry lies north of the D 941, almost opposite Vulcania, about fifteen kilometres west of Clermont-Ferrand. The deepest point of the excavation sits roughly 85 metres below the old summit, so paths descend through the exposed layers. The site is used by school and university groups, and an exhibition with seasonal activities completes the visit.
The quarrying that exposed the volcano's interior ended in 2007, after the Montel family took over operations in 1972 and worked with Clermont-Ferrand volcanologists to preserve the site. Their extraction revealed two separate chimneys, Lemptégy 1 and Lemptégy 2, belonging to two different eruptions.
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