The non-governmental organization Volcanes Sin Fronteras (Volcanos without Borders) has suggested the possibility of creating geoparks in the areas involving the Poas, Turrialba and Irazu volcanoes with the purpose of reactivating the economy in these communities. As it has been reported recently, the closure of the Poas Volcano for more than a year now has resulted in losses not just for the N...

The Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica has been in a period of relative calm throughout the past weeks with the constant emission of gas as vapor. On Sunday afternoon, however, the volcano had another eruption of importance with emission of ash and a column that reached 500 meters above the crater (3,800 meters above sea level). Another eruption was registered at 9 a.m. of Monday morning, with ...

The government claims that efforts are being done to comply with the security and safety requirements established by the National Emergency Commission necessary to reopen the Poas Volcano National Park to the public. Tourists and tourism businesses are impatient and tired of waiting, in fact, neighbors and business owners are planning to march this Sunday at 9 a.m. as a protest to demand the pr...

The lake at the Poas Volcano National Park in Alajuela, Costa Rica has drawn the attention of scientists and investigators that believe its extreme conditions could offer information about life on Mars. According to Guillermo Alvarado, geologist of the National Seismology Network (RSN), the characteristics of the lake make it almost impossible for there to be any form of life, due to its acidit...

Three irresponsible people once again disregarded the warning signs this time at the Turrialba Volcano National Park and accessed the area closed to the crater putting their lives at risk. Apparently the three men broke one of the access gates with their car and entered the park illegally, however, authorities only realized what had happened after the damage was done and the men had left the ar...

Video by: Cusuko Fotografia The magnificence of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica, one of the current active volcanoes in the country and the second highest sitting at 3,340 meters above sea level (10,958 ft.), is showcased in this video created by Costa Rican Iván Salazar Cruz from Cusuko Fotografia and featured in the Spanish version of National Geographic Magazine. The majority of the i...

Incidents are reported frequently of national and foreign tourists that choose to ignore the warning signs at the different national parks in Costa Rica and end up risking their lives and endangering the lives of members of the rescue teams. This time its the Guanacaste Conservation Area (ACG) that urge visitors to respect the rules established in each park, this because on April 10 a visitor ...

The National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC) has been working in the past weeks in gathering the funds and organizing the work that could lead to a reopening of the Poas Volcano National Park to the tourists. This park has been closed now for one year since it's eruptive activity began on April 13, 2017; the closure of the park, which was the second most visited in Costa Rica, has resul...

The activity at the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica just doesn’t stop, on April 1st, two significant eruptions took place early in the morning and carried on for close to 30 minutes. The biggest eruption was registered at 8:38 a.m. local time and the cameras located near the crater registered a column of ash that reached between 500-700 meters above the active crater. The activity at the volcan...

The activity started on the night of March 29th with a small eruption that lasted for about 10 minutes, a column of gas and ashes that reached just 200 meters above the active crater, the activity, however continued sporadically throughout March 30th. According to the National Seismology Network another eruption was registered at the Turrialba Volcano in Cartago at around 12:30 p.m. on Friday a...

Watch a video created by the the Observatory of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Costa Rica (OVSICORI) which showcases the activity of the Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, Costa Rica, from January through March 2018. The strombolian (relatively mild) activity continues at this active volcano. The video shows samples of the “bombs” erupted by the volcano close to the crater, as well as the impres...

The Observatory of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Costa Rica (OVSICORI) gave an update on the status of the Turrialba Volcano, confirming that in the past three days there have been no more ash emissions but it is emitting a passive but important flow of magmatic gases at high temperatures of 600⁰-800⁰C (1112⁰-1472⁰F). These gases originate from a body of magma reach in volatiles “which sugge...

The National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC) in Costa Rica, confirmed they are working diligently in all aspects necessary to be able to reopen the Poas Volcano National Park to the public. Even though some media channels announced earlier this week that the park could reopen for the upcoming Holy Week, SINAC confirms this is Not possible, since they have to comply with security requir...

Sadly this is not the first time this happens and likely it won’t be the last, a tourist got lost at the Arenal Volcano National Park in Costa Rica, the alert was received by the authorities at around 6:37 p.m. on Saturday, March 10. The tourist was able to communicate with his mobile phone and apparently got lost in the woods close to the trail known as “Coladas”. According to the initial...

At the beginning of this year scientists announced with excitement the reappearance of the Poas Volcano hot water lake, as a result of the rainfall in the area and the closing of the internal ducts of the volcano; however, just a few weeks later and in a matter of 12 days the lake dried out. The volcanologists started noticing the changes in the water level of the lake starting mid-February, an...

The Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, Costa Rica had for the past weeks presented a diminished seismic activity and also a decreased degassification; however, the volcano raised its voice again this March 7th when it entered an strombolian eruption phase (relatively mild blasts). The phase which began at 00:00 hours included the emission of gases, ashes and incandescent fragments of fresh lava whic...

Authorities from the National Emergency Commission (CNE), the National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC) among others, are meeting again to evaluate the current conditions of the Poas Volcano and the steps towards a reopening of the park. Although just a few weeks ago members of the National Emergency Commission spoke of the unstable conditions of this Volcano which makes it difficult to ...

The lake that reappeared at the crater of the Poas Volcano in Costa Rica late January, is still somewhat superficial, but in its deepest point it reaches 15m (50 feet). Eliecer Duarte from the Observatory of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Costa Rica (OVSICORI), explained to national daily La Nacion, that some of the formations that had been documented just a few weeks back have now disappe...

The Turrialba Volcano registered yet another important eruption, this Monday, February 12 at approximately 4:30 a.m. with a column that reached 1000 meters above the crater and 4,340 meters above sea level (14,235.2 ft.). The impressive was even visible from the Irazu Volcano as you can see in the video included below. The emission of ash is continuous and of variable volume and has been consta...

Since this past February 2, the Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, Costa Rica has continued the emission of ash in a passive and constant way and in moderate quantities. The column of ashes, aerosol and gases elevates close to 300 meters above the west crater, and the wind is directing the column towards the southwest-west and northwest. Communities in Cartago; San Jose (specially Coronado, Goicoe...

The Tenorio Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica is classified as an dormant or inactive volcano; however, the area presents six seismic faults which generate seismic activity. This year, however, the activity has been increasing, and since January 9 through date the area has been affected by an earthquake swarm that registered 505 events of different magnitude, the strongest ones registered we...

So far this year the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica had maintained a passive emission of ash with columns that generally don’t exceed the 500 meters above the active crater and the 3,840 meters above sea level (12,595.2 ft.), however, the morning of this Tuesday, February 6 the Volcano registered a significant eruption with a column that reached 1000 meters above the crater and 4,340 meters above...

Even though the Poas Volcano has maintained a relative calm in the past few weeks, the unstable conditions of the same makes the possibility of reopening the National Park remote. The Poas Volcano, which remains closed since April 13, 2017, was the second most visited National Park in Costa Rica with close to 400 thousand visitors a year, only behind Manuel Antonio National Park. Lidier Esq...

Since the early hours of this Monday, January 22, 2018 the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica has maintained a passive emission of ash with a column that reaches close to 500 meters above the active crater, 3,840 meters above sea level (12,595.2 ft.). The information was released this morning by the National Seismology Network (RSN), “The ash is dispersed from West to Northeast, according to dat...

Photo Credit: Cusuko fotografía and Iván Meza Photography, members of Volcanes Sin Fronteras-VSF. Volcanes sin Fronteras (Volcanoes without Borders) a non-governmental organization in Costa Rica dedicated to the study of volcanoes shared impressive images of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica and its constant activity. The video and the corresponding report regarding the findings by the vul...

An ambitious project by the National Seismology Network (RSN) in conjunction with the National Laboratory of Advance Computer Studies (CNCA) and the National Center of High Technology (Cenat) aims to offer answers to some long standing questions that lay underground at the country’s South Zone (Zona Sur). According to an article by Rebeca Madrigal for the University of Costa Rica, the objective...

On Monday, January 15 at 4:11 a.m. the cameras of the National Seismology Network (RSN) recorded the moment of an eruption at the Turrialba Volcano that lasted for 14 minutes. “Although the visibility was scarce, the surveillance camera of the National Seismology Network located closest to the active crater was able to partially capture the process. It wasn’t possible to estimate the height of ...

Renown US magazine The Atlantic published an article including 40 photographs of volcanoes around the world that had activity during this 2017. The article titled “2017 The Year In Volcanic Activity” includes impressive photos of erupting volcanoes around the world, including the Shiveluch Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula; Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra, Indonesia; in America three volc...

Costa Rica has 5 active volcanoes, 1290 kilometers of coastlines, and 51.000 square kilometers of land, and Costa Rica’s National University, (UNA) in conjunction with the University of Costa Rica (UCR) have developed several observatories to help nationals and tourists safely enjoy the abundance of natural resources available here. In 1984, the UNA created the Volcanological and Seismological ...

Despite a recent lessening in the intensity of its eruptions, scientists and emergency officials will keep restrictions in place on entry into the Poás Volcano National Park, much to the dismay of local tourist businesses who depend on the park to draw visitors. The park was the most frequently visited in the country, being within an hour's drive from San José and about a half-hour from the int...

The heavy rains that the country has experienced this year have brought back the lake of the Irazú Volcano which had dried out several years back. The lake brings back one of the main attractions of this National Park, it is formed in the interior of the active crater and its emerald green color has in the past been featured in many postcards and photographs. The small lake at the Diego de l...

The Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste Costa Rica presented new activity this Sunday at 6:40 a.m. with an eruption column that reached 1000 meters over the crater, 2,916 meters above sea level (9,564.48 ft.) as informed by the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI). This activity at the Rincón de la Vieja is normal, the last one of importance was re...

What happens when entire communities build their tourist businesses and livelihoods around an active  volcano? That is the story of the rural communities surrounding Poás Volcano in the aftermath of this year's eruptions that caused closure of the Poás Volcano National Park. The closure has left dozens if not hundreds of families struggling for their survival, having switched from agricultur...

At 14:45 local time this Tuesday, October 3rd, the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica registered an eruption that reached over 1,500 meters above the top of the crater, 3,416 meters above sea level (11,204.48 ft), the eruption was still going strong at 4 p.m. and is considered, according to Geologist Waldo Taylor Castillo from the National Seismology Network the biggest phreatic ...

This Friday, September 29 at 8:58 a.m. local time the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica registered an eruption that reached 1000 meters above the crater and 2,916 meters above sea level (9,564.48 ft.). Rincón de la Vieja Volcano has presented in the past few weeks moderate activity, the eruption today according to Geoffroy Avard from the National University's Volcanology and ...

Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica registered important eruptions of gases and ashes that have reached up to 800 meters above the crater and 4,140 meters above the sea level (13,579.2 ft.). The first eruption of importance took place at 5:30 a.m. this Thursday morning, and reached 500 meters above the crater, a second and stronger eruption occurred at 8:25 a.m. of 700 meters above the crater and t...

The following video was done as part of the joint taskscarried out between GasLab of the University of Costa Rica and the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (Ovsicori) with the purpose of measuring the gas expelled by the Poás Volcano in Costa Rica. The footage is from August 29th and it shows the non-stop degasification with a column of water vapor and magmatic...

The Turrialba Volcano near Cartago, Costa Rica started churning back to life yesterday after a few weeks of calm. Yesterday, Sept. 5, 2017, the volcano started spewing a column of ash 1,000 meters above its crater, reported the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Observatory (Ovsicori-UNA). Ash has been flowing out of the crater since yesterday, and ashfall has been reported in ...

At around 9:20 a.m. this morning the Poás Volcano in Costa Rica presented a new eruption which is still going at this hour. The column reached over 500 meters above the sea level (3,008 meters or 9,866.24 ft above sea level) according to the report by the National Seismology Network. The Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, on the other hand has also had constant small pulses of ash eruptions...

The Poás Volcano in Alajuela, Costa Rica had gone through several days of relative calm, with just the now common vapor and gas emissions; however, today starting at 3:17p.m. local time it registered an eruption that continued through almost 6 p.m. The eruption had presence of ash and the column elevated around 500 meters above the crater, (3,008 meters or 9,866.24 ft above sea level) according...