Turrialba, (3,340 meters) the southeast-most of Costa Rica’s Holocene volcanoes, is a large vegetation-covered stratovolcano located to the northeast of Irazu volcano. Three well-defined craters occur at the upper end of a broad summit depression that is breached to the northeast. Turrialba has been quiescent since a series of explosive eruptions in the 19th century that were sometimes accompanied by pyroclastic flows. Fumarolic activity continues at the summit craters.
Turrialba Volcano
Turrialba Crater
Turrialba Cone
Turrialba, the easternmost of Costa Rica’s Holocene volcanoes, is a large vegetated basaltic-to-dacitic stratovolcano located across a broad saddle NE of Irazú volcano overlooking the city of Cartago. The massive 3340-m-high Turrialba is exceeded in height only by Irazú, covers an area of 500 sq km, and is one of Costa Rica’s most voluminous volcanoes. Three well-defined craters occur at the upper SW end of a broad 800 x 2200 m wide summit depression that is breached to the NE. Most activity at Turrialba originated from the summit vent complex, but two pyroclastic cones are located on the SW flank. Five major explosive eruptions have occurred at Turrialba during the past 3500 years. A series of explosive eruptions during the 19th century were sometimes accompanied by pyroclastic flows. Fumarolic activity continues at the central and SW summit craters.
Turrialba Volcano
The summit crater complex of Turrialba volcano is seen here from the north, with the Central Valley of Costa Rica in the background. Three well-defined craters can be seen at the upper SW end of a broad 800 x 2200 m wide summit depression that is breached to the NE. Turrialba has been quiescent since a series of explosive eruptions during the 19th century that were sometimes accompanied by pyroclastic flows. Hydrothermally altered ground can be seen at the central and SW summit craters (right), where fumarolic activity continues.
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Volcano Status: Historical
Last Known Eruption: 1994
Summit Elevation: 3432 m 11,260 feet
Latitude: 9.979°N 9°58’45″N
Longitude: 83.852°W 83°51’9″W
Costa Rica’s highest volcano, Irazú has a broad summit, vegetated flanks, and a history of frequent eruptions going back to 1723. Its last eruption, 1963-65, sent tephra and secondary mudflows into cultivated areas, caused at least 20 deaths, and destroyed 400 houses and some factories.
Irazú Crater
Irazú, Costa Rica’s highest volcano and one of its most active, rises to 3,432 meters immediately east of the capital city of San Jose. The massive volcano is vegetated to within a few hundred meters of its broad summit crater complex. At least 10 satellitic cones are located on the southern flank of Irazú. No lava flows have been identified from Irazú since the eruption of the massive Cervantes lava flows from south-flank vents about 14,000 years ago, and all known Holocene eruptions have been explosive. The focus of eruptions at the summit crater complex has migrated to the west towards the historically active crater, which contains a small lake. The first well-documented historical eruption occurred in 1723, and frequent explosive eruptions have occurred since. Ashfall from its last major eruption during 1963-65 caused significant disruption to San Jose and surrounding areas.
In a Strombolian-type eruption observed during the 1965 activity of Irazú Volcano in Costa Rica, huge clots of molten lava burst from the summit crater to form luminous arcs through the sky. Collecting on the flanks of the cone, lava clots combined to stream down the slopes in fiery rivulets.
Volcano Type: Complex volcano
Volcano Status: Historical
Last Known Eruption: 1998
Summit Elevation: 1916 m 6,286 feet
Latitude: 10.830°N 10°49’48″N
Longitude: 85.324°W 85°19’26″W
Rincon de la Vieja, the largest volcano in northwest Costa Rica, is a remote volcanic complex in the Guanacaste Range consisting of an elongated, arcuate NNW-SSE-trending ridge. At least nine eruptive vents are located within an older 15-kilometer-wide caldera remnant, with activity migrating to the southeast, where the youngest-looking craters are located. The twin cone of 1,916-meter-high Santa Maria volcano, the highest peak of the Rincon complex, is located at the eastern end of a smaller, 5-kiloeter-wide caldera and has a 500-meter-wide crater. A Plinian eruption producing the 0.25 cubic kilometers Rio Blanca tephra about 3,500 years ago was the last major magmatic eruption from the volcano. All subsequent eruptions, including numerous historical eruptions possibly dating back to the 16th century, have been from the Active Crater, which contains a 500-meter-wide crater lake.
Rincón de la Vieja Crater Lake
Rincón de la Vieja, is situated along the volcanic front of Central America, at or just southeast of a postulated boundary between eastern Nicaragua and Costa Rican segments of the Cocos-Caribbean subduction zone (Stoiber and Carr, 1983).
Rincón de La Vieja Volcano Crater
Rincón de la Vieja, the largest volcano in northern Costa Rica, consists of six volcanic centers that form an elongate ridge, built on a shield of ignimbrites. Healy (1969) outlined a large, 15-20 kilometer diameter caldera within which the present ridge-shaped volcano has grown. Carr and others (1986) concurred with this interpretation and outlined another nested, 5-kilometer-diameter caldera on the Rincón de la Vieja edifice.
Most historical eruptions of Rincón de la Vieja have been vulcanian, Strombolian, or phreatic explosions from the central crater of the complex.
Mud Pots
Part of the complex summit region of Rincón de la Vieja, the largest volcano in NW Costa Rica, is seen here from the north. Steam rises from the lake-filled Cráter Activo at the left, ENE of the shallow 1895-m-high Von Seebach crater (upper right). Laguna Fria (upper left) is not a crater lake, but a freshwater lake that formed between overlapping cones of the summit complex, which extends east and west beyond the area of this photo. Frequent historical eruptions from Cráter Activo have left surrounding terrain unvegetated and scarred by erosional gullies.
Volcano Type: Complex volcano
Volcano Status: Tephrochronology
Last Known Eruption: 6050 BC ± 1000 years
Summit Elevation: 2906 m 9,534 feet
Latitude: 10.135°N 10°8’6″N
Longitude: 84.10°W 84°6’0″W
The central and least known of three massive volcanoes towering over the capital city of San José, Volcán Barva (Barba) is a complex volcano with multiple summit and flank vents. Its three principal summits visible from the Central Valley give it the common local name of Las Tres Marías. The voluminous andesitic-to-dacitic Tiribí Tuff, exposed in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, was erupted about 322,000 years ago from the Barva summit caldera. Four pyroclastic cones are constructed within the 2 x 3 km caldera at the central and NW part of the summit. The SW peak contains four cones, one of which has a crater lake. Satellitic cones are found on the northern and southern flanks. Lava flows blanket the south side of Barva volcano. The Los Angeles flow, one of the most recent, descends nearly to the city of Heredia. A large plinian eruption occurred at Barva during the early Holocene. Eruptions were reported in 1760 or 1766, 1776? (also a mudflow), and 1867, but later visits to the summit did not provide evidence of eruptions during historical time.
