New Volcano Found in Costa Rica with Crater the Size of Irazu.

Just 170 kilometers north of Costa Rica’s capital city of San José, scientists have confirmed the existence of the country’s 250th volcano. Located in the San Carlos canton, the newly found volcano sits at a lofty 2,300 meters above sea level. Its crater measures 200 meters in diameter, about the same size of Irazú and approximately eight times the size of Turrialba Volcano’s active center.

The volcano sits at the Cerro El Porvenir — Porvenir (Future) Mountain — and has been determined to be dormant. Its presence was first discovered in 2006, hidden in the virgin forest of the Parque Nacional del Agua Juan Castro Blanco. A NASA airplane had taken infrared photographs of the area, showing evidence of two geologic faults and some sort of hole or crater at Porvenir’s summit. After seeing the photographic evidence, scientists headed into the national park to investigate by land. Though there is still much to study and scientists look forward to determining the age of the volcano and geological footprint that it has made, the discovery was made official on March 8, 2008.

Aside from its scientific implications, Costa Rica’s newest volcano is sure to affect tourism, as well. Some of the country’s favorite tourist destinations are Poás Volcano, whose crater diameter is the second largest in the world, Irazú Volcano, the highest volcanic point in the country, and Arenal Volcano, the third most active volcano in the world.

The Parque Nacional del Agua Juan Castro Blanco will certainly gain fame over its new jewel, and in time, both national and international tourists are sure to want to visit the giant. For the moment, though, we will all have to wait as scientists investigate and glean as much information as possible about the country’s newest find.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on March 11th, 2008