Rincón de la Vieja

Latest news:

Rincón de la Vieja volcano (Costa Rica) activity update

Wednesday, Mar 06, 2013

OVSICORI-UNA received reports at 05:30 on 26 February of pulsing white plumes rising from Rincon de la Vieja's active crater about every four minutes. ... [more]

Rincón de la Vieja volcano (Costa Rica) activity update: increased degassing and temperature at acid crater lake

Saturday, Oct 06, 2012

The volcano has a very active hot lake whose degassing activity and temperature (48° C) increased after the magnitude 7.6 earthquake on 5 Sep. It has milky gray color due to mixing of sediments. ... [more]

Rincón de la Vieja volcano

Complex volcano 1916 m (6,286 ft)
Costa Rica, 10.83°N / -85.32°W
Current status: minor activity or eruption warning (3 out of 5)
Rincón de la Vieja webcams / live data

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Last update: 6 Mar 2013
Typical eruption style:

Explosive.

Rincón de la Vieja volcano eruptions: 1529(?), 1765, 1844, 1849, 1851(?), 1853-54, 1860, 1861-63, 1902(?), 1912, 1917(?), 1922, 1966-67, 1969, 1969, 1970, 1983, 1984, 1985-86, 1987, 1991-92, 1995, 1998 (Feb.-Sep.), 2011-2012
Last earthquakes nearby:

Time	Mag. / Depth	Distance	Location
Sat, 13 Apr
Sat, 13 Apr 06:03 UTC	M 3.1 / 5 km	46 km	En las cercanias de SANTA RITA de Carrillo de Guanacaste
Sat, 6 Apr
Sat, 6 Apr 21:09 UTC	M 2.8 / 100 km	21 km	2 km al Suroeste de ORATORIO de Liberia de Guanacaste
Sat, 30 Mar
Sat, 30 Mar 11:42 UTC	M 2.8 / 5 km	51 km	En las cercanias de OBANDITO de Carrillo de Guanacaste
Mon, 25 Mar
Mon, 25 Mar 23:03 UTC	M 4.3 / 34 km	32 km	8 km al Noroeste de HACIENDA LA TRINIDAD de Liberia de Guanacaste

View all recent quakes

Rincón de la Vieja is the largest volcano in NW Costa Rica and one of its most active ones.

Background:

It is a remote volcanic complex in the Guanacaste Range, consisting of an elongated, arcuate NW-SE-trending ridge that was constructed within the 15-km-wide, about 9,000 years-old Guachipelín caldera, whose rim is exposed on the south side.
Rincón de la Vieja, sometimes known as the "Colossus of Guanacaste," has an estimated volume of 130 cu km and contains at least 9 major eruptive centers.
Activity has migrated to the SE, where the youngest-looking craters are located. The twin cone of 1916-m-high Santa María volcano, the highest peak of the Rincón complex, is located at the eastern end of a smaller, 5-km-wide caldera and has a 500-m-wide crater.
A plinian eruption producing the 0.25 cu km Río Blanca tephra about 3500 years ago was the last major magmatic eruption from the volcano. All subsequent eruptions, including numerous historical eruptions possibly dating back to the 16th century, have been from the prominent crater containing a 500-m-wide acid lake (known as the Active Crater) located ENE of Von Seebach crater.
Source: GVP, Smithsonian Institution

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