Costa Rica is Part of the Ring of Fire
Arenal Volcano, once again dormant, was pretty colorful in October 2010 when a Serendipity guide shot this 30 second time-lapse photo
Costa Rica: Twelve Volcanoes, Six Currently Active, None with Lava Visible From Below
Active volcanoes create pressure below the cone, cause earthquakes, and generally have cycles of activity and dormancy. The six active volcanoes are (1) Turrialba, (2) Irazú, (3) Poás, (4) Arenal, (5) Rincón de la Vieja, and (6) Miravalles.
Visible lava ended in late 2010 from Arenal Volcano, but not before hundreds of hotels were built to promise a view of red hot lava. The Fortuna area is optimistic the lava will restart, but by normal volcanic time that will probably be in the next century.
Irazú Volcano National Park is not only a vista of a steaming mineral lake but also a cloud forest naturalist area (and a good place to hike).
Costa Rica - Young at Heart, Young in Land Mass
Costa Rica is a very young land mass. It rose from the ocean, propelled by its volcanoes, about 3 million years ago. Central America formed after the dinosaurs disappeared from earth 66 million years ago - hence, no dinosaur skeletons in Costa Rica, unlike abundant skeletons in both North and South America.
Rich soil builds rainforest, pastures, soil to grow every kind of plant.
Volcanoes Bless Costa Rica with Rich Soil
Smaller eruptions as currently happen eject ash which provides rich minerals for soil, a blessing for plants and animals and farmers, but a nuisance for airplanes.... San José airport occasionally gets closed for several hours at a time because Turrialba Volcano erupts ash that damages jet engines.
We fly our balloon upwind of Arenal Volcano, getting all the advantage of lush terrain and none of the smoke (but some spectacular views).
It's time to call us.