Puy de Gravenoire, Volcanic peak in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France

Puy de Gravenoire is a volcanic cone in the Chaîne des Puys with a rounded summit and slopes covered in reddish to black scoria. A maintained road climbs to the top, where a television transmitter broadcasts to the Clermont-Ferrand area.

The volcano formed millions of years ago during the volcanic activity that created the Chaîne des Puys. During the twentieth century, mining operations extracted scoria from its slopes for building material until these activities stopped permanently in 1978.

The name Gravenoire, also written Grave Noire, is shared with the Grave Noire district of Ceyrat on the eastern side. The red and black scoria mined here was processed as pouzzolane, a volcanic material long used in the region for paths and building. The quarries are closed and access is forbidden.

A vehicle road makes reaching the summit straightforward, as driving covers most of the elevation gain for visitors. From the top, you gain wide views across the entire volcanic chain and the surrounding landscape.

The scoria quarries on the flanks are closed and access is forbidden, so the cuts left when extraction ended in 1978 are seen only from outside. The material taken was red or black pozzolana, used as building material. The road to the summit is called chemin du relais de Grave Noire.