Report on Turrialba (Costa Rica) — September 1992
Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 17, no. 9 (September 1992)
Managing Editor: Lindsay McClelland.
Turrialba (Costa Rica) Occasional seismicity
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 1992. Report on Turrialba (Costa Rica) (McClelland, L., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 17:9. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199209-345070
Turrialba
Costa Rica
10.025°N, 83.767°W; summit elev. 3340 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Only 13 low-frequency events were recorded in September by UNA station VTU, 0.5 km E of the main crater; three occurred on 29 September.
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 Irazú 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: E. Fernández, J. Barquero, and V. Barboza, OVSICORI; G. Soto and R. Barquero, ICE.
