Skip to main content
← Back to map
⇄ Compare

Irazú Volcano

Irazu

Stratovolcano · Costa Rica · 3436m

A lake occupies one of the Irazú summit craters (seen here from the southern crater rim in 1996), which has been the source of many recent eruptions. The first well-documented eruption of Irazú occurred in 1723, and frequent explosive eruptions have occurred since. Ashfall from its last major eruption during 1963-65 caused significant disruption to San José and surrounding areas.
A lake occupies one of the Irazú summit craters (seen here from the southern crater rim in 1996), which has been the source of many recent eruptions. The first well-documented eruption of Irazú occurred in 1723, and frequent explosive eruptions have occurred since. Ashfall from its last major eruption during 1963-65 caused significant disruption to San José and surrounding areas. · Photo: Photo by José Enrique Valverde Sanabria, 1996 (courtesy of Eduardo Malavassi, OVSICORI-UNA). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Costa Rica
Region
Middle America-Caribbean Volcanic Regions / Central America Volcanic Arc
Elevation
3436m
Coordinates
9.979, -83.852
Last eruption
1977
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The massive Irazú volcano in Costa Rica, immediately E of the capital city of San José, covers an area of 500 km2 and is vegetated to within a few hundred meters of its broad summit crater complex. At least 10 satellitic cones are located on its S flank. No lava effusion is known since the eruption of the Cervantes lava flows from S-flank vents about 14,000 years ago, and all known Holocene eruptions have been explosive. The focus of eruptions at the summit crater complex has migrated to the W towards the main crater, which contains a small lake. The first well-documented eruption occurred in 1723, and frequent explosive eruptions have occurred since. Ashfall from the last major eruption during 1963-65 caused significant disruption to San José and surrounding areas. Phreatic activity reported in 1994 may have been a landslide event from the fumarolic area on the NW summit (Fallas et al., 2018).

From Wikipedia

The Irazú Volcano is an active volcano in Costa Rica, situated in the Cordillera Central near the city of Cartago.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
640 BCE~452 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 3301~489 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 3677~865 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 31053~1241 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 31430~1618 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 31618~1806 · 3 eruptions · max VEI 31806~1994 · 23 eruptions · max VEI 3640 BCE76 BCE67712411806

Detailed timeline

  1. 1994VEI 2Observed
    1994-12-08 – 1994-12-08
    Upper NW flank
  2. 1977VEI 1Observed
    1977-03-03 – Ongoing
  3. 1963VEI 3Observed
    1963-03-13 – 1965-02-13
  4. 1939VEI 2Observed
    1939-05-18 – 1940-02
  5. 1933VEI 2Observed
    1933-03-22 – 1933-07-25
  6. 1930VEI 2Observed
    1930-10 – Ongoing
  7. 1928VEI 2Observed
    1928-02-14 – 1928-05-26
  8. 1924VEI 2Observed
    1924-03 – 1924-04
  9. 1917VEI 3Observed
    1917-09-27 – 1921
  10. 1914VEI ?Geological estimate
    1914-02-21 – Ongoing
  11. 1909VEI 2Geological estimate
    1909 – Ongoing
  12. 1886VEI 2Observed
    1886 – Ongoing
  13. 1885VEI 2Observed
    1885 – Ongoing
  14. 1882VEI 2Geological estimate
    1882 – Ongoing
  15. 1875 (±5 yrs)VEI 2Observed
    1875 – Ongoing
  16. 1864VEI 2Observed
    1864-09-16 – 1864-09-17
  17. 1847VEI 2Observed
    1847-05-18 – Ongoing
  18. 1844VEI 2Geological estimate
    1844-05 – Ongoing
  19. 1842VEI 2Observed
    1842 – Ongoing
  20. 1826VEI ?Geological estimate
    1826 – Ongoing
  21. 1823VEI 2Observed
    1823 – Ongoing
  22. 1822VEI 2Observed
    1822-05-07 – Ongoing
  23. 1821VEI 2Geological estimate
    1821-05 – Ongoing
  24. 1775VEI 2Observed
    1775 – Ongoing
  25. 1726VEI 2Observed
    1726-05 – Ongoing
    Diego de la Haya Crater
  26. 1723VEI 3Observed
    1723-02-16 – 1724-02
    Diego de la Haya Crater
  27. 1560 (±75 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    1560 – Ongoing
  28. 1110 (±100 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    1110 – Ongoing
  29. 690 (±40 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    690 – Ongoing
  30. 430 (±500 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    430 – Ongoing
  31. 640 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    BCE 640 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.