New eruption at Piton de la Fournaise

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It seems that a new fissure eruption has begun at Piton de la Fournaise on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean*. In fact, the report goes onto say that a small lava lake has formed at the main crater of the eruption. This marks the first eruption at Piton de la Fournaise since March 2007.

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Piton de la Fournaise is a large shield volcano associated with the Reunion Island Hotspot. The volcano has frequent eruptions, mostly in the form of effusive lava flows of basalt, similar to the Hawaiian volcanoes. This could be an interesting new eruption because the initial eruptions suggest this is a flank eruption outside the caldera, but this might just be a product of a mistaken report.

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*Update 9/21/08: Thanks to Anthony for noticing that Reunion Island is in the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific. Sorry about misplacing the island!