![]() ![]() The islands were formerly covered in tropical moist broadleaf forest, and harbored a diverse range of forest types. The Mascarene islands form a distinct ecoregion, known as the Mascarene forests. Some of the banks may have been islands as recently as 18,000-6,000 years ago, when sea levels were as much as 130 meters lower during the most recent ice age. Limestone banks found on the plateau are the remnants of coral reefs, indicating that the plateau was a succession of islands. The southern part of the plateau was formed by the Réunion hotspot. The plateau covers an area of over 115,000 km² of shallow water, with depths ranging from 8 to 150 meters, plunging to 4000 m at its edges. The Mascarene Plateau is an undersea plateau that extends approximately 2000 km, from the Seychelles to Réunion. Réunion is home to the highest peaks in the Mascarenes. Only three (Mauritius, Reunion, and Rodrigues) remain today. Of the original seven Mascarene islands to rise out of the Indian Ocean due to the Réunion hotspot, eventually three were completely submerged, and one is a coral atoll. The Piton de la Fournaise is created by a hotspot volcano, which also created the Piton des Neiges and the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues. The lava flow from this eruption was estimated at about four million cubic yards (3 million m 3) per day. It most recently erupted on April 4, 2007. It has erupted more than 100 times since 1640 and is under constant monitoring. The Piton de la Fournaise, a shield volcano on the eastern end of Réunion Island, rises more than 8,565 feet (2611 m) above sea level and is sometimes called a sister to Hawaiian volcanoes because of the similarity of climate and volcanic nature. It is similar to the island of Hawaii insofar as both are located above hotspots in the Earth's crust. Its area is slightly smaller than the U.S. The island is 39 miles (63 km) long 28 miles (45 km) wide and covers 970 square miles (2512 sq km). The collective title is derived from the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas, who first visited them in 1512. The island chain was home to a number of endemic species of both plants and animals, but deforestation and the introduction of non-native species has caused the extinction of many. Réunion, the largest, was created in the last two million years. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which are volcanic in origin Mauritius is the oldest of the existing islands, and was created 8-10 million years ago. ![]()
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