Arenal Eruption Photos
As Costa Rica’s youngest and most active volcano, Arenal is something of a celebrity. Locals and foreigners alike travel here year round with the hope of witnessing its sensational eruptions. Indeed, its perfect conical shape and regular displays of fiery lava make it interminably attractive for photographers, geologists, and travelers of all sorts.
Still, according to scientists at the National Seismological Network (RSN), Arenal is resting, not dead—a process that is natural for active volcanoes. In fact, prior to Arenal’s massive eruption of 1968, it had been inactive for some 450 years. It also entered into a resting phrase during 1973 and the early 1980s. Arenal’s inactivity – which began in October 2010 – is then simply a part of its ongoing volcanic evolution.
It is, however, still seismically active at levels deeper than five kilometers. “That indicates that there is still movement of magma deep inside,” points out Gerardo Soto, a volcanologist with the RSN. “But the most superficial magma is what seems to be very quiet.”
Despite its current lack of lava and rock flows, experts advise against exploring beyond the restricted areas. “There could well be a new magma supply and within months an eruption could happen,” says Soto. Moreover, the top of the mountain is extremely unstable and prone to landslides. Its active crater has grown much faster than its inactive crater, thus putting both pressure and weight onto the older structure. When the rains come, they can sweep the debris into the rivers and create mudflows. For all of these reasons, visitors are reminded to stay on guard and not explore beyond the posted signs.
But why does Arenal erupt in the first place? Convergence between oceanic and continental plates generates magma, which then rises and fills the volcanic chamber. This chamber acts as the volcano’s plumbing system, temporarily storing the magma in a reservoir some 3 miles (5 km) beneath the summit. From this chamber, the magma rises up a central conduit (or chimney) and eventually explodes from the top. Once the magma erupts onto the surface, it is called lava.
The magma of the Arenal Volcano contains high levels of water and other chemicals that make it highly explosive. Due to this, Arenal has the potential to erupt frequently – as many as 3 to 5 times a day. It is, however, not just lava that is released from the top; hot gases, rocks and ash can also accompany the eruptions.
During an eruption, smoke and ash can be seen from nearly any direction. Prior to the current resting phrase, Arenal’s western vent was the most active. The town of La Fortuna (and many of the area’s hotels) is located along the northeastern side of the volcano. Thus, to watch the eruptions visitors would need travel, or stay, along Arenal’s southwestern side.
It’s difficult to predict what will happen if and when Arenal becomes active again. The lava flow could remain the same or shift to a new area. In this case, only time will tell.
Arenal Volcano Eruption Archives
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Costa Rica, Arenal Volcano – 1968 Eruption
July 1968Between 1500-1900, the Arenal Volcano remained silent and was considered by many to be extinct. In fact, the local farmers and ranchers who worked the land along its base referred to it as a mountain call "Cerro Arenal" (Arenal Mountain).
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Costa Rica - Arenal Volcano Eruption - 23 August 2000
Aug 2000The eruptions began around 10 AM and continued into the afternoon. Ash and gas columns spread more than 1 km into the sky, bringing partial darkness to the immediate area. It’s estimated that at least twenty pyroclastic flows – avalanches of hot gas, rocks and ash – occurred on this single day. It was the most dramatic eruption since 1968.
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Arenal - Pyroclastic Avalanche Sep. 2003
Sep 2003Arenal eruption page updated on October 30, 2005 in Costa Rica, activity moderate. Hot rocks and lava rolling down every 5 minutes could be seen on the West face.
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Arenal Eruption May 15, 2005 Photos
May 2005May is rainy season but usually the weather is clear in the morning with an hour or so of rain in the afternoon and clear sky at night. In May 2005 the volcano is quite active with lava flowing every 15 minutes or so on the south-west side. These photos were taken with an amateur digital camera.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption - April 20, 2006
Apr 2005View the glowing red lava of Arenal Volcano in this photographic journal entry of Costa Ricas Arenal Volcano eruption photos, from April 20th, 2006
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Arenal Eruption Photos May 22, 2005
May 2005May is rainy season but usually the weather is clear in the morning with an hour or so of rain in the afternoon and clear sky at night. On May 22, 2005 the volcano was quite active with lava flowing every 10 minutes or so on the West side. These photos were taken by Jacques Bertrand the webmaster of arenal.net with a Nikon D70 equipped with a 70/300mm zoom and a tripod between May 21, 9h02 pm and May 22, 5h19 am from the Mirador Lodge in Monteverde (16 km from the volcano as the crow flies).
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Arenal Eruption Photos June 22, 2005
Jun 2005May is rainy season but usually the weather is clear in the morning with an hour or so of rain in the afternoon & clear sky at night. On the evening of June 22, 2005 the volcano was moderately active with lava flowing every 30 minutes or so on the West side. These photos were taken by Jacques Bertrand the webmaster of arenal.net with a Nikon D70 digital camera equipped with a 70/300mm zoom and a tripod (30 second exposition @ 1,600 asa) between 8h pm & 11h pm from the Mirador Lodge in Monteverde (16 km from the volcano as the crow flies).
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Arenal Volcano Eruption - September, 2005
Sep 2005
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Arenal Volcano Eruption - November, 2005
Nov 2005Captured a strombolian eruption with the lava flowing every 15 minutes or so, on 2 different paths.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption - December, 2005
Dec 2005September, October, November & December is rainy season in Costa Rica but usually the weather is clear in the morning with an hour or so of rain in the afternoon & clear skies at night. The volcano was very active tonight with lava flowing down every 2 minutes, large & spectacular flows on several different paths, all on the west side. The full moon helps a lot for taking night shots.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption - October, 2005
Dec 2005
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Arenal Volcano Eruption - Febuary, 2006
Feb 2006The first Arenal Volcano picture above taken from the west face on February 12, 2006 @ 1h10 am (almost full moon). The others taken on Feb. 2 @ 9h01 pm, 9h03 pm & a strombolian eruption @ 9h37 pm.
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Arenal Volcano Image Update, May 31st 2006
Apr 2006A calm day at Arenal so nothing much to report today. This does not prevent the volcano is as breathtaking as always and made for some nice new images. Enjoy!
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Arenal Volcano Eruption Journal - August 27th, Arenal Springs View
Dec 2006We awoke early in the morning, found the weather clear, and were able to snap a few shots as dawn transitioned into day. As you can see in the pictures, there were two large gas and steam expulsions on the right side of the crater. These are always enjoyable to watch, as they quickly appear and within a matter of minutes are gone.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption Journal - August 28th, Baldi Hot Springs View
Aug 2006A beautiful day in Arenal and a fantastic view from the Baldi Hot Springs as the Volcano relased a giant steam and gas cloud.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption Journal - October 30th, Evening Eruption
Oct 2006The night of October 30th the Volcano was steadily active on the North side. For much of the day and early evening there were clouds which made it impossible to see the entire base and cone of the Volcano. However between 7:15PM and 8:45PM the weather cooperated and conditions were ideal for photographing the beautiful site. Around 9:00PM the clouds once again engulfed the peak until around 10:15 PM before the air cleared and once again the entire Volcano was visible. However my battery in the Nikon D80 was tired after a long day so I simply sat down and relaxed on my porch at Arenal Springs Hotel and Resort and enjoyed the steady flow of hot rocks tumbling down the side of the majestic Arenal Volcano.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption Journal - October 31st, Halloween Eruption
Oct 2006Halloween Night the Arenal Volcano was not disapointing - the weather cleared around 10:15 PM. These photos were taken from the Observatory Point at Los Lagos Hotel. The volcano was spewing car size boulders roughly every 15 minutes, as they tumbled down the steep slopes of the volcano the red hot rocks began to break up and left a trail of beautiful red light. Please click the thumbnails below to view the full sized version of each eruption photo.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption, November 2006
Nov 2006The following photos of the Arenal Volcano eruption were taken on November 2, 2006 from the Arenal Lodge.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption Journal - May 2nd, Linda Vista del Norte
May 2007The Arenal Volcano was steadily active this evening, and a bright moon helped to create an impressive silhouette during the fiery show. The photos did, however, turn out a bit blurry due to the light from a nearby restaurant. We’re hoping that the visibility of Arenal does not lessen in future years as light pollution creeps in from development projects. As with all things, only time will tell.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption Journal - May 3rd, Observatory Lodge View
May 2007The Observatory Lodge is set on a ridge overlooking the south and southwest sides of Arenal. This location allows for fantastic views not only of the volcano but of Lake Arenal as well.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption Journal - May 17th, Linda Vista del Norte
May 2007Throughout the day the clouds had been dancing around the rim of the Arenal Volcano however it began to clear around 12:30 pm just in time for our lunch at Linda Vista del Norte. There are two eruption sequences captured, as you can see the ashy line streaking down the side of the Volcano. During the day, the eruptions are quite different than the bright red-orange of the eruptions that occur at night.
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Arenal Volcano July 22, 2007 From The Observatory Lodge
July 2007With the Lava flowing on the West and South side of the Arenal Volcano the Observatory Lodge as well as other hotels in Castillo area have some of the best viewing angles. These photos were taken from the Observatory Lodge with a Nikon D80 camera, exposures times ranged between 1 and 3 minutes, no point and shoot cameras will suffice for night shots of the volcano.
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Arenal Volcano Eruption Journal - July 17th, Arenal Lodge View
Jul 2007These photos were taken between 10:00 and 11:30 pm from on of the Chalet buildings at the Arenal Lodge. The Volcano was not super active on this particular evening but the view was very clear and the silloute of the volcano was very impressive.
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Arenal Volcano Update From Monteverde, Sep. 2007
Sep 2007It seems like its been too long since the last photo update from the Mirador. I just checked and it looks like the last update from this spot was over 2 years ago. These photos where taken about an hour before sunset (5PM) from the Mirador Lodge in Monteverde; 16 km (11 miles) Southwest from the volcano as the crow flies.
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Arenal Volcano Photos From The Mirador In Monteverde, Sep. 2007
Sep 2007About 2 weeks ago we did a photo update from the Mirador Lodge right before sunset. Last night we set out for another udpate from the Mirador, this time arriving about an hour after sunset to photograph some lava activity at night. Around 10pm the clouds rolled in and we called it a night. We got up around 4:30 am to take some photos of the sunrise, it turned out to be a great morning in spite of the cloud formations blocking some of the view.
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April 11 2008 Nearby The Arenal Volcano National Park
Apr 2008We were trying to find a new angle to photograph the volcano so we drove around some of the roads between the Arenal Dam and a road that connects to the Castillo road nearby the national park. We set up a tripod in a ditch off the side of the road, not ideal but at the moment we stopped the conditions were clear. After about 30 minutes or so the clouds rolled in and made it too difficult to get a clear shot. Unfortunatley the clouds hung around the summit the entire time we were shooting.
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November 1, 2006 From The Los Lagos Observatory
Nov. 2008There are two great Observatory Points at Los Lagos, one being much closer to the base of the volcano and the other at a greater distance. The first four photos were taken from the closer point, while the final eight photos were taken from the farther point. We had to wait until 10:00 PM before the volcano emerged from the clouds. Our patience, however, paid off and we were able to witness some spectacular eruptions.
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November 2008 Observatory Lodge
Nov. 2008Since April 2007, the material from the active cone has been flowing down the south and southwest slope of the Arenal Volcano – directly in front of the Arenal Observatory Lodge.
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June 22th 2009 From Linda Vista Del Norte
June 2009The following photos were taken on the night of June 21st and the morning of June 22nd from the Linda Vista del Norte. It was a great night because from the Master Suite rooms there is a direct view to the volcano and lake. The Master suites have a spacious balcony to set up tripods or just sit back and enjoy the scenery.
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The May 24 2010 Avalanche And Recent Changes To Arenal Volcano
May 2010There was a large avalanche that occurred on May 24, 2010 along the southwest flank of the Arenal Volcano. On May 29, Eliecer Duarte, a volcanologist and geochemist with the Costa Rican Institute of Volcanology and Seismographic Observatory, visited the Arenal Volcano to determine what observable changes the volcano has experienced since the May 24th avalanche.
