Irazú Volcano

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Irazú Volcano
Irazú Crater
Elevation	3,432 m (11,259 ft)
Location	Costa Rica
Range	Cordillera Central
Coordinates	9°58′48″N, 83°50′60″W
Type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	1965

The Irazú Volcano (in Spanish Volcán Irazú) is an active volcano in Costa Rica, situated in the Cordillera Central close to the city of Cartago. Its name is believed to be a corruption of Iztarú, which was the name of an indigenous village on the flanks of the volcano. In Costa Rica it is known by the name of "Colossus" due to the catastrophes that it has provoked in the past. Irazú has erupted frequently in historical times—at least 23 times since its first well-recorded eruption in 1723. Its most famous recent eruption began in 1963 and continued until 1965. It began on the day US President John F. Kennedy began a state visit to Costa Rica and showered the capital San José and much of the central highlands of Costa Rica with ash.

Since the 1963–65 eruption, the volcano has been dormant, although frequent earthquake swarms show that magma is still moving about beneath the volcano. In 1994, a small phreatic eruption occurred, caused by heavy rains destabilising part of the volcano's flank, resulting in rapid decompression of a shallow hydrothermal system.

The volcano's summit has several craters, one of which contains a green crater lake of variable depth. It is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica. It is easily visited from San José, with a road leading right up to the summit craters and a daily bus service to the top. It is thus a popular tourist spot. The volcano summit also spots a few television transmitters for television stations in San José.

From the top it is claimed to be possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on a clear day; however, such clear days are very rare indeed, and it is typical for the volcano's summit to be covered in cloud for much of the time.