Why Hawaii's volcano is so UNUSUAL

NOAH must have been at Berkley when that University was still concerned with LEARNING, and not SOCIAL JUSTICE! But the Hawaiian Islands are by no means unique. In May of this year, my partner and I, along with two wonderful ladies, visited the French Indian Ocean island of LA REUNION (previously the Isle Bourbon), where the mighty shield volcano PITON DE LA FOURNAISE, dominates the southern third of the island; whilst the extinct PITON DES NEIGES towers over the northern section, rising to 10,070 ft; making it the highest point in the Indian Ocean. In many ways the island resembles a 'mini-Hawaii', because it is only 40 miles x 30 miles; and the scenery is spectacular. FOURNAISE is also over a hotspot (it was once beneath the Deccan Traps of western India, and then Mauritius), and is one of the most accessible volcanoes on Earth. You can drive to the very precipice surrounding L'Enclos, the vast caldera where today's active cones, Tory and Dolomieu hold sway. However, like Hawaii, FOURNAISE can surprise everyone, by 'splitting' along a fracture zone, and pouring out lava, in full view of those watching from the cliff-edge! Spectacular.