Inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List of Puy de dôme volcanoes

42nd World Heritage Committee Inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List of 
(PUY-DE-DÔME • AUVERGNE • FRANCE)

On Monday 2 July 2018, during the 42nd session, the 21 States composing the World Heritage Committee decided to inscribe the Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault Tectonic Arena on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  This unique landscape now joins sites such as the Grand Canyon, the Okavango Delta, Kilimanjaro and the Great Barrier Reef on this prestigious list.  It is the first French natural site to be inscribed in Mainland France, and is one of the rare tectonic World Heritage sites.  
Emblematic image of the Auvergne and the Puy-de-Dôme department, the Chaîne des Puys - Limagne fault Tectonic Arena has been recognised by UNESCO as an exceptional geological site.  The alignment of the Chaîne des Puys volcanoes and the Limagne fault provides evidence for a large-scale process which has fashioned the Earth’s surface: continental break-up.  
A natural showcase, the site demonstrates how the Earth’s crust was faulted and underwent collapse, allowing magma to rise up and the surface to be significantly uplifted.  This geological history is superbly reflected in the landscape and stimulates the visitors’ imagination as they gaze across the lush green volcanoes at what could have been a new ocean.