Volcanologist Maurice Krafft photographs a narrow lava flow on Piton de la Fournaise volcano in March 1976, his tripod only a meter away from the incandescent flow margin. Maurice and Katia Krafft observed more eruptions than any other volcanologists, devoting their careers to documenting both the beauty of volcanoes and their hazards. Before losing their own lives in 1991 filming pyroclastic flows on Unzen volcano, they produced videos that alerted officials and the public to the hazards of volcanoes, saving many other lives.

Copyrighted photo by Katia and Maurice Krafft, 1976.

Copyrighted image used with permission. All Rights Reserved. Contact photographer for any usage requests.

Piton de la Fournaise