COSTA RICA

VOLCAN IRAZU

The highest volcanoe in the country towering at 3432 m.a.s.l. It`s the only place in America, from which it`s possible to see both oceans at once. On its slopes there are strawberries cultivations. There is a smell of sulphur on its top. Its main crater is round shaped and is filled with green water with sulphur and measures 1050 metres of wide and 300 metres of depth. The second crater Diego da la Haya (called that way in honour of spanish concvistador Fernandeza Diego de la Haya, who as the first recorded its eruption from XVIII century), has 600 metres of width and 100 metres of depth. The other craters are: Playa Hermosa, El Piroklastico and La Laguna. The name Irazu (Iztaru) derives from the language of Indians which used to live under its slopes. It means "a thunder" or "the place that shakes". Irazu had a few catastrophic eruptions. That one from 1723 destroyed completely off that time capital - Cartago. The eruption from 19 June 1963 covered San Jose with thick layer of ash. There was conviction that Irazu blows out on every 30 years. It`s called :"the deadly keg of powder".

VOLCANOS