Logo link to homepage

Report on Turrialba (Costa Rica) — March 1994


Turrialba

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 19, no. 3 (March 1994)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Turrialba (Costa Rica) Weak fumarolic activity

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 1994. Report on Turrialba (Costa Rica) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 19:3. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199403-345070



Turrialba

Costa Rica

10.025°N, 83.767°W; summit elev. 3340 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


A visit on 25 March revealed almost no activity at the central part of the main crater, and very weak fumarolic activity at the SW part. Maximum temperature at the SW part of the crater reached 89°C -- nearly the same as measured in July 1993.

Geological Summary. Turrialba, the easternmost of Costa Rica's Holocene volcanoes, is a large vegetated basaltic-to-dacitic stratovolcano located across a broad saddle NE of IrazĂș volcano overlooking the city of Cartago. The massive edifice covers an area of 500 km2. Three well-defined craters occur at the upper SW end of a broad 800 x 2200 m summit depression that is breached to the NE. Most activity originated from the summit vent complex, but two pyroclastic cones are located on the SW flank. Five major explosive eruptions have occurred 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.

Information Contacts: G. Soto, Guillermo E. Alvarado, and Francisco (Chico) Arias, ICE.