As an English tourist coming to Costa Rica, the thought of many volcanoes in such a small country is quite daunting. Well, I can tell you as English born and bred; I do not feel threatened by the volcanoes, living here in Costa Rica, I find them more fascinating. There are 7 historically active volcanoes in total here and all are as unique as the next:

Arenal
Based in the province of Alajuela, Arenal was assumed extinct until July 29th 1968 when an earthquake caused the first eruption after 400 years of being dormant. The eruption lasted for several days and as it wiped out the

town of Arenal with all its crops, livestock, the eruption also took the lives of 87 people. It has been active ever since and erupts on average every 48 minutes. Eruptions are classed as not dangerous as they are moderate and very highly controlled. It has become a very popular tourist destination and at night, the spectacular sight of the lava can be seen spewing from the top of the volcano

Barva
At 9,500 feet above sea level, it is the highest point of the Brauilo National Park and has been dormant for over 300 years now. The volcano is enormous with coffee plantations and small towns down its slopes. Towards the summit, the bio diversity of the cloud forest is not the norm of a normal volcano!

Irazú
Situated close to the city of Cartago, Irazú has erupted at least 23 times since its first well-recorded eruption in 1723. It’s most famous recent eruption happened on the day John F. Kennedy began a state visit to Costa Rica in 1963 and it continued for 2 years covering the central highlands with ash. The volcano has been dormant since however earthquake reports show that there is magma still moving under the volcano. It is the highest volcano in Costa Rica and said that on a clear day, it is possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean on either side.

Miravalles
Located in the Guanacaste province Miravalles represents activity of an enormous eruption with lethal pyroclastic flows that occurred between 1.5 and 0.6 million years ago. Since then, the only activity has been a small steam explosion in 1946. There is still a high heat flow and it is the location of the biggest geothermal field in Costa Rica.

Poas
It has erupted continuously since 1828 and is in a state of constant mild activity. Most of the eruptions are caused by lava interacting with the water and rarely do eruptions happen above the summits lake. The lake in the crater has a pH of less than 1 and temperatures of up to 85 degrees. It is the only place in the world that can form a liquid sulphur lake on the earth’s surface.

Rincon de la Vieja
The volcano is in the Guanacaste province about 25km from Liberia. The name means “The Old Woman’s Corner” after a myth that a young girl’s lover got thrown into the volcano by her father so she lived her life on the volcano slopes and was credited with powers of healing. The first recorded eruption was in 1765 but pyroclastic flow remains show that eruptions date back to 3500 years ago. The most recent eruption was in 1998 and there have been many since with most eruptions happening in the crater with just smoke and ash billowing into the air.

Turrialba
Names after the area it is located on the Atlantic slop town, Turrialba is one of the few volcanoes in Costa Rica where the visitor can descend into one of the craters. The last major eruption was in 1856 and in 2001 there were reports of increased activity. Standing adjacent to Irazú volcano, they are both among some of the largest peaks in Costa Rica.

This article was brought to you by Caroline Wilson, a web consultant for Costa Rica News.