Barva Volcano

Updated: May 21, 2024 15:00 GMT - refresh

Complex volcano 2906 m / 9,534 ft
Costa Rica, 10.14°N / -84.1°W
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

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Typical eruption style: unspecified
Barva volcano eruptions: 6050 BC ± 1000 years

Latest nearby earthquakes

Time	Mag. / Depth	Distance / Location
May 18, 09:25 pm (Costa Rica)	2.7 9 km		Costa Rica: 12 km al Suroeste de Horquetas, Sarapiqui. I FELT IT - 1 report	Info
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 GMT (2 quakes)
May 15, 02:55 pm (Costa Rica)	2.8 6 km		Costa Rica: 18 km al Oeste de Guapiles, Pococi. I FELT IT	Info
May 15, 08:27 am (Costa Rica)	3.3 9 km	15 km (9.4 mi) to the SE	Costa Rica: 5 km al Norte de Cascajal, V. de Coronado. I FELT IT	Info
Saturday, May 11, 2024 GMT (2 quakes)
May 11, 03:41 pm (Costa Rica)	2.9 39 km	24 km (15 mi) to the SW	Costa Rica: 3 km al Sureste de Tacares, Grecia.	Info
May 11, 12:19 am (Costa Rica)	2.8 115 km		Costa Rica: 7 km al Norte de Cascajal, V. de Coronado.	Info
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 GMT (1 quake)
May 7, 11:36 pm (Costa Rica)	2.6 89 km		Costa Rica: 6 km al Noroeste de Varablanca, Heredia.	Info

View recent quakes

Background

The central and least known of three massive volcanoes towering over the capital city of San José, Volcán Barva (Barba) is a complex volcano with multiple summit and flank vents. Its three principal summits visible from the Central Valley give it the common local name of Las Tres Marías. The voluminous andesitic-to-dacitic Tiribí Tuff, exposed in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, was erupted about 322,000 years ago from the Barva summit caldera. Four pyroclastic cones are constructed within the 2 x 3 km caldera at the central and NW part of the summit. The SW peak contains four cones, one of which has a crater lake. Satellitic cones are found on the northern and southern flanks. Lava flows blanket the south side of Barva volcano. The Los Angeles flow, one of the most recent, descends nearly to the city of Heredia. A large plinian eruption occurred at Barva during the early Holocene. Eruptions were reported in 1760 or 1766, 1776? (also a mudflow), and 1867, but later visits to the summit did not provide evidence of eruptions during historical time.
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Smithsonian / GVP volcano information