Arenal Volcano

Updated: May 1, 2025 17:16 GMT - refresh

Stratovolcano

Costa Rica, 10.46°N / -84.7°W

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Summit height: 1657 m / 5,436 ft

Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

Last update: 23 Apr 2025

Arenal volcano (image: Michael Beck)

Arenal, a major tourist attraction in Costa Rica, is one of the most active volcanoes of Central America. Since a major eruption in 1968, it has been in near-continuous activity building a lava dome and displaying mild explosive activity from the summit crater.

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Arenal webcams / live data | News/Updates | Earthquakes | Tours

Typical eruption style: Explosive. Near continuous strombolian activity, occasional major explosive events and lava flows.
Arenal volcano eruptions: 1968-2011, 1968 (major explosion), 1922, 1915(?), 1750, 1530, around 1350 (large, sub-Plinian eruption)

Latest nearby earthquakes

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Distance / Location
Apr 21, 03:17 pm (Universal Time)	2? 54 km	26 km (16 mi) to the S	30 km north of Puntarenas, Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica (unconfirmed)	Info
Sunday, April 20, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Apr 20, 12:43 am (Universal Time)	2? 151 km	28 km (17 mi) to the NW	45 km southeast of San José, Provincia de Alajuela, Costa Rica (unconfirmed)	Info

View recent quakes

Background

Volcán Arenal, a beautiful, 1657-m high conical andesitic stratovolcano near Lake Arena, is the youngest and one of the most active stratovolcano in Costa Rica. It is famous for a large explosive eruption in 1968 that killed several people and threw incandescent bombs to 5 km distance from the vent.
Arenal lies along a volcanic chain where activity has migrated to the NW over the past 2 million years, from the late-Pleistocene Los Perdidos lava domes through the Pleistocene-to-Holocene Chato volcano, which contains a 500-m-wide, lake-filled summit crater. The earliest known eruptions of Arenal took place about 7000 years ago, and it was active simulataneously with Cerro Chato volcano until the activity of Chato ended about 3500 years ago.
Growth of Arenal has been characterized by periodic major explosive eruptions at several-hundred-year intervals and periods of lava effusion that armor the cone. Arenal's most recent eruptive period began with a major explosive eruption in 1968. Continuous explosive activity accompanied by slow lava effusion and the occasional emission of pyroclastic flows has occurred since then from vents at the summit and on the upper western flank.
Source: GVP, Smithsonian Institution

Significant volcanic eruptions: Arenal volcano

In the past 10,000 years, Arenal has had at least 27 confirmed volcanic eruptions, out of which 2 are documented by historical records, while the others can be inferred from geological evidence.
There is one uncertain or discredited eruption in 1915 from Arenal volcano.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Arenal volcano since around 1000 BC. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Arenal can be found on the news page of Arenal volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths	Damage
1968 Jul 29 - 2010 Dec 16 ±15 d.	W flank & summit Historical obs./docs.	3
2000 Aug 23 (eruption 1968 Jul 29 - 2010 Dec 16 ±15 d.)	Historical obs./docs.	3	2		Info
2000 Aug 23: A guide and two tourists were engulfed in a pyroclastic flow 2.3 km from the summit; the guide died that night, and one of the tourists, a young girl, died of burns about two weeks later. (reference #9675) Cited references #9675 Siebert, Lee, Tom Simkin, Paul Kimberly (2010): Fatalities & Evacuations, Volcanoes of the World, Third Edition, Geoscience Press, Inc., University of California Press, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., p. 329-347. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1988 Jul 6 (eruption 1968 Jul 29 - 2010 Dec 16 ±15 d.)	Historical obs./docs.	3	1		Info
1988 Jul 6: A climber was struck on the head by tephra from an explosion while 3 m from crater rim. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1975 Jun 17 (eruption 1968 Jul 29 - 2010 Dec 16 ±15 d.)	Historical obs./docs.	3	2		Info
1975 Jun 17: 2 killed, many injured. Alvarado lists 1 injury, no fatalities. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. #1625 Alvarado Induni, Guillermo E. (2000): Volcanes de Costa Rica: Geologia, historia y riqueza natural. Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia, Segunda Edicion, San Jose, Costa Rica, p. 106-108, 111. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1968 Jul 29 (eruption 1968 Jul 29 - 2010 Dec 16 ±15 d.)	Historical obs./docs.	3	80	light	Info
1968 Jul 29: 80 (+/-5) killed in first 3 days; many by pyroclastic flows, but perhaps half by ballistic blocks. Village of Tabacon nearly obliterated by impact craters. One source reports 78 killed in pyroclastic flows. Other sources give total ranging from 76 to > 100. (Ref #1412) An explosion with burning clouds and lava flows made Pueblo Nuevo disappear and left about 200 victims. It affected the agricultural areas of Tilaran and San Carlos. Estimated damage losses of 100 million colones. (Ref #13481) NOTE: It is unclear if the amount of damages reflects the entire eruptive period and if the value of the colon is based in 1968 or 1989. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. #13481 La Republica (Costa Rica) (1989): Lluvia ácida podría causar pérdidas millonarias. Published 19 February 1989. Link. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1922 Oct 5 ? - Oct 23 ?	Historical obs./docs.	2
?? 1915 Feb 5	Uncertain Eruption	2?
1750 ±50 y.	Summit and NW flank (A2 lava flows)	0?
1440 ? AD		2?
1400 ? AD		4
1030 ? AD		4
1020 ? AD		4
750 ±50 y. AD		4
700 ? AD		4
650 ±100 y. AD		4
550 ? AD		4
400 ? AD		4
170 ±200 y. BC		4
270 ? BC		4
380 ±200 y. BC		4
830 ±500 y. BC		0?

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

Arenal Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of Arenal volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of Arenal occurred during 1968 - 2010.

+How often does Arenal volcano erupt?

Since 1922, Arenal volcano has had at least 2 historically documented eruptions. This means that it erupts on average every 52 years.
Many eruptions of Arenal have lasted more than one year. In total, the volcano has been in eruption during 44 out of 103 years until now. In other words, Arenal has been active at least one in 2.3 years on average. Note that this value is likely an underestimate, because the known history of eruptions from Arenal is likely incomplete, especially further back in time.

+How active is Arenal volcano at present?

Arenal volcano is very active: Since 1900, it has had 44 eruptions, and been active during 44 years out of 126 as of now. This means, Arenal has been in eruption one in 2.9 years on average. The last eruption was from 1968 until 2010 and ended 14 years ago.

+When was the largest eruption of Arenal volcano?

The largest eruption known from the younger geological history of Arenal volcano occurred in 1400 AD. It ranks as a "vulcanian" eruption with a magnitude 3 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale.

Latest satellite images

See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS

Latest satellite images

Arenal Volcano Maps

Below is a selection of maps showing the location and surroundings of the volcano at various resolutions based on aerial-imagery / terrain maps. Feel free to use them for non-commercial purposes on your blog or website as long as you credit them with a link back to this page (click to copy it).