A closer view of the volcanic crater. Note the person for scale.

Last week I shared a picture of the beautiful and impressive Formica Leo, a volcanic crater located at the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Last week’s picture showed the crater from a distance. You can just barely make out some small people in last week’s picture, to give you some sense of scale. However, I thought I would share a closer view of the crater this week. This picture, which was taken as we hiked around the rim of the crater, shows a person and gives you a sense that this crater is actually pretty large, if small compared to the overall volcano. The background also gives you a glimpse of the edge of the larger volcanic feature in which this small crater sits. You can see some lava flows on the cliffs in the background.

Stay tuned for more pictures and information from Réunion — there’s much interesting geology to share!