Poas Volcano National Park Costa Rica
| Price: | $147 per person. |
| Included: | Tour Guide, A/C Transportation, Park Entrance, La Paz resort zoo animals and waterfall entrance, with lunch. |
| Departure: | 7:00 am from Jaco. |
| Travel time: | 2:40min From Jaco to Poas Volcano. |
Crater lakes
There are two crater lakes near the summit. The northern lake is known as the Laguna Caliente (“hot lagoon”) and is located at a height of 2,300 m in a crater approximately 1.7 km wide and 290–300 m deep. It is one of the world’s most acidic lakes. The acidity varies after rain and changes in volcanic activity, sometimes reaching a pH of almost 0; consequently, it supports little or no aquatic life. The bottom of this lake is covered with a layer of liquid sulfur. Acid gases create acid rain and acid fog, causing damage to surrounding ecosystems and often irritation of eyes and lungs.
Lake Botos, the southern lake, fills an inactive crater, which last erupted in 7500 BC. It is cold and clear and is surrounded by a cloud forest located within the Poás Volcano National Park.
Eruptive history
Poás was near the epicenter of a 6.1-magnitude earthquake in January 2009 that killed at least forty people and affected Fraijanes, Vara Blanca, Cinchona (the most affected area), the capital San José, and the Central Valley region of Costa Rica.
There was also eruptive activity in 2009 involving minor phreatic eruptions and landslides within the northern active crater. Poás eruptions often include geyser-like ejections of crater-lake water.