Miravalles Volcano

Miravalles Volcano
Miravalles Volcano in 1988
Highest point
Elevation2,028 m (6,654 ft)[1]
ListingList of volcanoes in Costa Rica
Coordinates10°44′54″N 85°09′10″W / 10.74833°N 85.15278°W / 10.74833; -85.15278[1]
Geography
Miravalles Volcano is located in Costa Rica
Miravalles Volcano
Miravalles Volcano
Parent rangeCordillera de Guanacaste
Geology
Rock age1.5 Myr
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Last eruptionSeptember 1946[1]

The Miravalles Volcano is an andesitic stratovolcano in Costa Rica. The caldera was formed during several major explosive eruptions that produced voluminous dacitic-rhyolitic pyroclastic flows between about 1.5 and 0.6 million years ago. The only reported historical eruptive activity was a small steam explosion on the south-western flank in 1946. High heat flow remains, and Miravalles is the site of the largest developed geothermal field in Costa Rica.[1]

The Miravalles Volcano reaches an elevation of 2,023 metres (6,637 ft) and is the highest mountain in the Guanacaste Mountains. The heat from the volcano also helps power a geothermal energy plant at Las Hornillas, which is run by the Institute of Electricity.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d "Miravalles". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  2. ^ Stater, Adam. "The Miravalles Volcano".