Path Across Arenal’s Lava Rock Toward the Volcano
Taken February 2019
Arenal Volcano last erupted in 1968, sending a pyroclastic flow and lava across its western and southern flanks that buried several farms and killed dozens of people. The eruption ended a dormancy of roughly 400 years and triggered intermittent activity that continued until 2010. The rock fields near La Fortuna consist of andesitic lava deposited during that eruptive period, now colonized by secondary forest growth. At 1,657 meters, Arenal remains Costa Rica's most studied volcano and anchors Arenal Volcano National Park, established in 1991.
Taken February 2019
More from
La Fortuna
Arenal Volcano's Cone Rising Above the Rainforest
Arenal Volcano stands 1,657 meters tall in north-central Costa Rica, within Arenal Volcano National Park near the town of La…
Arenal Volcano Rising Above a Lava Rock Path
Arenal Volcano reaches 1,657 meters above the lowlands of Alajuela Province near La Fortuna, its conical shape long cited as…
Forest-Rimmed Lagoon on the Arenal 1968 Trail
This lagoon sits along the Arenal 1968 Trail, a network of paths at Arenal Volcano National Park that cross ground…
Mother Sloth with Baby Clinging to a Costa Rican Treetop
Costa Rica is home to two sloth species: the brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) and Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni).…
Arenal Volcano's Cone Beneath a Shifting Sky
Arenal Volcano stands 1,633 meters high near La Fortuna in Costa Rica's Alajuela Province. The stratovolcano entered a major eruptive…
Dirt Road to Arenal Volcano Near La Fortuna
Arenal Volcano rises 1,633 meters above the plains of Alajuela Province in northern Costa Rica. The stratovolcano erupted almost continuously…
