The Republic of Costa Rica is a lovely little nation in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua and Panama. The land area is only 19,653 square miles, but within those miles are innumerable natural wonders. In fact, the people elected seven official natural wonders of the country: Cocos Island, Chirripo Mountain, Light Blue River, Tortuguero Canals, Poas Volcano, Monteverde Reserve, and of course the incredible Arenal Volcano.
Located just south of the capital city San Jose, Arenal Volcano reaches about 5358 feet to the sky. In terms of geology, it is considered to be quite a young volcano, only about 7000 years old. Seven thousand years seems like a long time from a human perspective, but consider that Mount Etna in India (which is widely considered to be the oldest volcano on earth) is approximately 350,000 years old. That would make Arenal Volcano just an infant.
The province of Alajuela is it's home, and was not explored by non-indigenous peoples until 1937. It was at that time the volcano was discovered. At the time there was a single crater at the summit with a few fumaroles, a clear sign there was activity beneath the crust. The first accepted eruption was on July 29, 1968 and it was an extremely powerful one. The entire west side of the side of the volcano was destroyed as well as the town of Tabacon, killing 78 people. The next eruptions came in 1975, followed by several more in June of 1984.
Over the next twelve years there were regular eruptive events every two years, sometimes lasting for several days. The last record of a major eruption was on May 7 1998. There were 23 eruptions reported on that day, which ended up destroying all but one crater at the summit. That last crater has been minimally active since then.
Arenal Volcano is considered a natural wonder of Costa Rica not only for its uniqueness as a young volcano, also for the unusual an incredible foliage on the mountain and in the surrounding Arenal Volcano National Park. There 790 square miles of natural reserves and conservancies in the area, all with an aim to protect the rare species of flora and fauna unique to the region. But it is the volcano that is the most popular sight to take in. After all, the relative infancy of the volcano reminds us just how small we are in this world, and in time.
Located just south of the capital city San Jose, Arenal Volcano reaches about 5358 feet to the sky. In terms of geology, it is considered to be quite a young volcano, only about 7000 years old. Seven thousand years seems like a long time from a human perspective, but consider that Mount Etna in India (which is widely considered to be the oldest volcano on earth) is approximately 350,000 years old. That would make Arenal Volcano just an infant.
The province of Alajuela is it's home, and was not explored by non-indigenous peoples until 1937. It was at that time the volcano was discovered. At the time there was a single crater at the summit with a few fumaroles, a clear sign there was activity beneath the crust. The first accepted eruption was on July 29, 1968 and it was an extremely powerful one. The entire west side of the side of the volcano was destroyed as well as the town of Tabacon, killing 78 people. The next eruptions came in 1975, followed by several more in June of 1984.
Over the next twelve years there were regular eruptive events every two years, sometimes lasting for several days. The last record of a major eruption was on May 7 1998. There were 23 eruptions reported on that day, which ended up destroying all but one crater at the summit. That last crater has been minimally active since then.
Arenal Volcano is considered a natural wonder of Costa Rica not only for its uniqueness as a young volcano, also for the unusual an incredible foliage on the mountain and in the surrounding Arenal Volcano National Park. There 790 square miles of natural reserves and conservancies in the area, all with an aim to protect the rare species of flora and fauna unique to the region. But it is the volcano that is the most popular sight to take in. After all, the relative infancy of the volcano reminds us just how small we are in this world, and in time.
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