Report on Rincon de la Vieja (Costa Rica) — 22 February-28 February 2012
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 February-28 February 2012
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2012. Report on Rincon de la Vieja (Costa Rica) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 22 February-28 February 2012. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Rincon de la Vieja
Costa Rica
10.8314°N, 85.3364°W; summit elev. 1729 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
OVSICORI-UNA reported that seismic data revealed two eruptions on 19 and 20 February from Rincón de la Vieja's active crater. Two more eruptions also occurred on 23 February. Explosions were heard in Guachipelin (11 km SW) between 0400 and 0430.
Geological Summary. Rincón de la Vieja is a volcanic complex in the Guanacaste Range of NW Costa Rica. Sometimes referred to as the Rincon de la Vieja-Santa María Volcanic Complex, it consists of a slightly arcuate 20-km-long ridge of 12 craters and pyroclastic cones constructed within the 15-km-wide early Pleistocene Guachipelín caldera, whose rim is exposed on the south side. Sometimes known as the "Colossus of Guanacaste," it has an estimated volume of 130 km3 and contains at least nine major eruptive centers. The Santa María cone, the highest peak of the complex, is located on the E side of the ridge and has a lake within the 400-m-diameter crater. A Plinian eruption producing the 0.25 km3 Río Blanca tephra about 3,500 years ago was the last major magmatic eruption. All subsequent eruptions, including numerous reported eruptions possibly dating back to the 16th century, have been from the active crater, near the center of the complex, with an acidic 300-m-diameter lake.
Source: Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica-Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-UNA)