The Turrialba Volcano has been once again presenting eruptions since 12:30 a.m. this Monday morning. The eruption that took place at 12:30 a.m. presented a column that reached 500 meters above the crater and 3,840 meters above sea level (12,595.20). Another explosion was registered at 9:20 a.m. this time with a column of 400 meters above the crater, this one is still carrying on. Neighboring...

The Poás Volcano National Park, one of the most visited parks in Costa Rica, has been closed for almost four months, due to the explosive activity it started presenting since April, this has caused big economic loses to local commerce that depend on tourism; it has also affected the National System of Area of Conservation (SINAC) that is not receiving the park entry fee. Considering that the Vo...

Three tour operators have been ordered to stop offering walks and tours in areas of the Arenal Volcano National Park that are off limits, said the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) this week. Improvised trails that lead to the crater of Cerro Chato, the twin peak of Arenal Volcano, were closed with barbed wire by park rangers, due to informal tour operators using them for touris...

Around 6:29 a.m. this Friday, the Poás Volcano had a new eruption that lasted for close to 10 minutes and was captured by the cameras of the National Seismology Network (RSN); the eruption concluded with the emanation of reddish colored ash. The color, according to Dr. Mauricio Mora from the RSN obeys to an oxidation process which is normal and has been occurring for several weeks. The colorati...

Name an area of Costa Rica that is not at risk for volcanic eruptions, mosquito-borne diseases, flooding, landslides, or affected by high crime rates .... take your time. There are hardly any, right? This was part of the highly critical statement published by the Union of Private Sector Businesses today in response to a proposal by the Costa Rican Education Ministry (MEP, in Spanish) to rais...

Small Lava Lake at Turrialba Volcano Photo Credit: M.Sc. Paul Vega, LANAMME-UCR. Earlier this week we reported on the activity at Poás Volcano which has presented several strombolian eruptions with ejection of small lava bombs; today the National Seismology Network reported on the discovery at Turrialba Volcano of a small lava lake in the central area of the crater. The small sized lake was ...

The Poás Volcano in Alajuela, Costa Rica is presenting activity this Monday evening (July 3, starting at 10:30 p.m.) and it is expelling fragments of fresh lava from the main emission point, denominated Boca Roja (Red Mouth), reported Dr. Mauricio Mora from the National Seismology Network. This type of activity, known as strombolian eruptions began in the early morning hours of July 1st whe...

Businesses in the former agricultural towns near the frequently touristed volcano by the same name in Poás, Alajuela are reporting up to 70 percent decreases in sales over recent weeks since the volcano entered a new, eruptive phase. Tourism has become a mainstay of this national park and surrounding area due to its proximity to the main international airport and to San José - making it a popul...

Are volcanoes in Costa Rica secretly conspiring to erupt simultaneously, or is there some science behind all the recent gas, lava and ash? Scientists are looking at the connection between the recent eruptions of three volcanoes and the energy released along fault lines. Two tectonic plates meet in Costa Rica: the Cocos and Caribbean,placing the country soundly within the globe's ring of fire, o...

Photo Credit: Mauricio Cortés / Rincón de la Vieja eruption seen from Upala The National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI), reported an eruption at the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste at 2:56 p.m. this Friday, June 23, where the column reached 2000 meters above the crater and 3,916 meters above sea level, (12844.48 ft). According to the report by ...

The activity began at 11 a.m. this morning at the Poás Volcano, the cameras located in different points of the National Park captured two “mouths” or active emanation points. Large columns of gases, vapor and ash were emanating from the volcano for several hours and at 1:50 p.m. a larger eruption was registered which reached 400 meters above the crater (3108 meters above sea level or 10,194...

Photo Credit: Dr. Pablo Ruiz Turrialba, Poás and Rincón de la Vieja volcanoes have continued to register activity on and off throughout all week, with several eruptions sometimes including ash but mostly consisting in gases and steam. The eruptions registered in Poás volcano are non-explosive but extend for long periods of time presenting internal seismic activity and low frequency tremor that ...

This Sunday, June 11 at 5:42 a.m. the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, registered a new eruption, the column was not visible due to the cloudy conditions in the area at this hour. Neighbors of the area were able to capture the vapor in the river product of a small lahar to the North of the volcano.The Penjamo river shows a grayish coloration and a strong sulfur-like odor. The Rincón...

The National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) reported an eruption that reached 1,000 meters above the crater, 3,708 meters above sea level (12.162,24 ft.), began at 8:50 a.m. local time this Tuesday and was still in progress at 10:05 a.m. This past Friday, June 2 the Poás Volcano registered constant activity with small size eruptions and redcolumns of gases...

Once again the Poás Volcano interrupted its relative calm period and during the afternoon of this Friday, June 2, Poás Volcano presented a couple of small size eruptions which included an ash column. So far, this volcano´s activity had consisted mostly of phreatic eruptions, which means they contained mostly steam and vapor; however, the eruptions today as it was clearly captured by the cameras...

The Turrialba Volcano in Cartago continued with constant eruptions throughout this week, most of them not exceeding the 500 meters above the active crater, but according to the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI), there are at least four or five every hour lasting under one minute. These frequent eruptions have been releasing gases and ash, and some ...

The Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste registered unexpected activity this Tuesday at 10:20 a.m. with a phreatic eruption (steam and water) that elevated 400 meters over the crater, reported the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute. The short eruption lasted under two minutes, but neighbors mentioned hearing a sound similar to a jet’s engine; material (mud, ...

Guanacaste is without a doubt the preferred destination of tourists in Costa Rica, specially foreign tourists, the beautiful beaches along the Northern Pacific coast are, of course, the main reason for this; however, there are so many other places to visit in Guanacaste aside from the beaches, one of them is the area of Miravalles in Bagaces. Bagaces was one of the communities affected by Hurri...

Turrialba Volcano had a new eruption the afternoon of this Friday, May 19, breaking its period of "relative calm". Although both eruptions are considered small, they are a reminder of the fact that this volcano continues with high activity and precautions and security measures should be taken seriously. The eruptions from the Turrialba volcano usually contain ash, yet, because of the rai...

Warnings have been loud, frequent and clear both by the National Commission of Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention (CNE) and the Technical Assessment Vulcanology Committee (CAT) in Costa Rica regarding the danger of violating the restrictions in the access to both the Turrialba and Poás volcanoes; yet, time and time again, daredevils continue to disregard the warnings and find new paths and wa...

The Poás Volcano near Alajuela has been sending up columns of water vapor over the past several days after becoming more active on May 13, making for some great photography, and not causing any problems for neighboring areas, reported the Volcanology and Seismology Observatory at the Costa Rican National University (Ovsicori-UNA). Meanwhile, further south along the Central Volcanic mountain cha...

After several days of very strong activity, the Poás Volcano in Costa Rica, has entered a period of relative calm, however, the volcano continues emanating gases and vapor, experts consider that under the current conditions more eruptions can be expected in a short term. Strong evaporation is present at the lake, with vigorous sub-aquatic fumaroles, the tremor that had been consistent during t...

The Poás Volcano has been experiencing a peak of activity for almost a month, the last big explosion took place on Saturday evening, since then, the volcano has continued emanating a column of vapor and has presented small eruptions, a few reaching just close to 1 kilometer in altitude. Although the eruption on Saturday evening forced the park rangers to leave the National Park, the professiona...

48 hours of continuous eruptive activity at Poás Volcano were marked this Saturday at 10:12 p.m. with a strong explosion that was captured by the cameras of the National Seismology Network, this explosion only lasted one minute and threw rocks at high temperatures in the areas close to the crater: This is the view from the thermal cameras located near the crater: The peak of activity...

Poás Volcano had another eruption that reached an altitude of over 1 kilometer this Friday morning and could be easily seen from many spots of the metropolitan area. Since 11 p.m. on Thursday night the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) reported an increase in the tremor which fluctuates in intensity; the majority of the events expel only water vapor ...

Last night Poás Volcano spitted out incandescent rocks in an eruption that occurred at 7:08 p.m. local time, it registered a few smaller eruptions during the early hours of this Wednesday, April, 19; but this morning at 6:29 a.m. and 8:43 a.m. it had two important eruptions (video available at the end of the article). Volcanologists that have been studying the recent activity at Poás where able...

Another eruption was registered this Tuesday evening at 7:08 p.m. local time by Poás, Volcano in Costa Rica, the activity only lasted 5 minutes but during this time the volcano provided a light show spitting out incandescent rocks as you can see in the following video: The volcano continues to register frequent activity and it is cataloged as “highly unstable” by geologists and volcanologis...

The Poás Volcano in Alajuela, Costa Rica continued with high activity this Sunday, small phreatic eruptions are reported every hour, but the biggest eruptions took place at 1:46 p.m. and a larger one at 1:55 p.m. local time. The second eruption was visible from different points of the metropolitan area, extending one thousand meters in altitude. The blast once again expelled rocks of large s...

Another eruption by Poás Volcano was registered by the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) at 8:10 this morning, it extended for 10 minutes, information on the altitude reached by the column of gas is still unknown due to the visibility conditions at the site right now. The two blasts the Poás had yesterday, which reached 3 kilometers in altitude, have...

Poás Volcano had its two biggest eruptions this morning in this recent phase of activity, said the Volcanology and Seismology Observatory at the Costa Rican National University (Ovsicori-UNA). A blast at 7:39 followed by a bigger one at 7:57 a.m. sent gases in both a westerly and easterly direction, and would possible be felt, or rather smelt, in the towns of Zarcero, Naranjo, San Ramón, Palmar...

After the recent increase in activity of the Poás Volcano, and the eruption that took place yesterday evening (Wednesday) ,the Ministry of Environment and the National System of Conservation Areas in coordination with the National Emergency Commission (CNE) announced that the National Park will remain closed as a preventive measure and to allow the evaluation of the situation at the volcano by the...

This Wednesday, April 12th at approximately 6:30 p.m. the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) registered an eruption at the Poás Volcano. Due to the lack of visibility in the area the OVSICORI cannot confirm the altitude reached by the column, but the activity extended for close to 40 minutes. Neighbors of the area of Bajos del Toro to the north east ...

A large group of tourists had to be evacuated today from the Poás Volcano as a precaution due to the increase in the gases emanating from the same. According to the park rangers the evacuation took place at 1 p.m. as a preventive security measure due to strong emanation of gases. Some of the tourists complained about eye and throat irritation caused by the smell. The volcano has been present...

All eyes have been set on the activity of the Turrialba Volcano for months; however, this week the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) alerted of increased activity at the Poás Volcano. According to experts at OVSICORI, the monitoring of the volcano indicates that it has increased its seismic and fumarolic activity; in other words it is emanating more ...

After several weeks of relative inactivity, Cartago's Turrialba Volcano started puffing out ash again starting a few days ago, reported the National University's Seismology and Volcanology Observatory (Ovsicori-UNA). Over the past several weeks, the volcano has been emitting vapor and gas, but very little ash, in what has become a fairly regular pattern for the Turrialbla - periods of calm punc...

New infrastructure in Irazú Volcano National Park was inaugurated by the Costa Rican government on Friday. New access control points, parking areas, exhibition room, and the Potrero Cerrado Viewpoint are some of the new facilities available for tourists. The total investment was of $872,809.00 USD and it was executed by the Tourism Program Strengthening Project consolidated under a loan contr...

Starbucks Coffee Company announced that it will develop a visitor’s center at its coffee farm, Hacienda Alsacia, on the slopes of Poás volcano, about 30 minutes from the international airport in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The center will begin receiving tourists in 2018. Since the purchase of the 240-hectare farm in March 2013, Starbucks has run it as a typical coffee plantation, and in doing so, ha...

The National Commission of Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention (CNE) and the Technical Assessment Vulcanology Committee (CAT) insist that the security of the people visiting the areas close to the Turrialba volcano is a priority, and for this reason the current restrictions most remain in such way that visitors must stay within a 2 km radius (1.24 miles) and when necessary at a distance of 5 k...

By Wendy Anders Starting shortly after 2:00 a.m. today, scientists at the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (Ovsicori) noted the Turrialba Volano began a new round of “constant eruptive activity.” At around 3:05, at 4:15, and again around 6:00 early this morning, strong eruptions sent columns that rose 1,000 meters above the crater height, for a height of 4,...

By Wendy Anders Along with gallo pinto and bad traffic, ash from the Turrialba Volcano has become a mainstay of life in many parts of San José's metropolitan area. This morning, the colossus was at it again, spewing moderate columns of ash that were immediately whisked off my the strong winds passing over most of the country this week, said the National University's Volcanology and Seismolog...