Arenal Volcano

View of the Arenal National Park Santa Elena from

The Arenal is the most active and at the same time youngest volcano of Costa Rica and one of the most active volcanoes in the world. At the foot of the volcano lies the town of La Fortuna and the largest lake in the country, the Arenal Lake.

Until his first ascent in 1937 was believed not to a volcanic origin of the cone, as he was then completely overgrown with plants.

Volcanic activity

The Arenal showed about 400 years with no activity, however, now the volcano is growing by several meters, as lava piles up around the crater. Lava flows also regularly on the slopes to the valley floor; repeatedly accuses the Arenal glowing boulders up to 7.5 m in diameter up to 300 meters into the air.

On July 29, 1968 at his last major outbreak, he destroyed the villages of Pueblo Nuevo and Tabacon, the remains can still be visited. In this outbreak 87 people lost their lives and in the summit area and on the western flank of the cone 640 million cubic meters of lava and 35 million cubic meters of tephra were ejected.

On 24 May 2010 the eruptions were so strong and the explosions promoted as much tephra that the national park had to be evacuated. Eight lava flows on the flanks of the cone.

Since October 2010, no more lava flows.