Costa Rica Has A New
Volcano
Located near the well
known Arenal Volcano and
thanks to the help of
photos taken by the
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
(NASA) back in 2005,
Costa Rican geologists
have discovered a new
volcano.
The not yet named
volcano is inactive and
rises 2.300 metres above
sea level with a 200
metre diameter.
The volcano's lagoon is
7.000 square metres and
was not discovered
before as it is well
hidden by jungle with
very difficult access
and continually covered
by cloud. In addition,
area residents never saw
any activity and did not
consider it a volcano.
Up to now the area was
know as El Porvenir
peak, some 90 kilometres
from San José, in San
Carlos, close to the
Arenal volcano, one of
the more active volcano
in the planet.
According to geologist,
Wilfredo Rojas, of the
Red Sismológica Nacional
in Costa Rica, the find
was made after studying
infrared photos provided
by NASA where they saw a
hole or crater at the El
Porvenir peak.
The photos were part of
the "Misión CARTA 2005"
whose objective was to
make a detailed map of
Costa Rica's geography,
said Rojas.
Now, experts will be
able to study the
volcano at depth to
determine its age.
Costa Rica has about 250
known volanoes, however,
only five are active. |
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