Volcano of the Week #11 - Poas

Costa Rica is a country full of beautiful and powerful volcanoes due to the 'crumple zone' caused by the meeting of the North American Plate and the South American Plate. It is also a country that I've been to, well San Jose airport (which counts) and while trying to avoid weird Americans on missions, I do remember that it was very beautiful and surrounded by large hills. According to googlemaps Poas is 43 mins away from San Jose by car, apparently you can't walk there, this stratovolcano is 2,708m high and pretty active; it erupted in December. The volcanoes proximity to the epicentre of the 2009 earthquake caused new fractures to open up in the volcano and an increase in fumarole (gas) activity. In January 2010 the increase in geothermal activity saw a Phreatic eruption occur, which is basically a steam explosion and occurred in one of Poas crater lakes. The largest is the aptly named Laguna Caliente where vents reach up to 800 degrees Celsius. The warm water (50 degrees) and the stunning views may make you think that this is lake is an ideal place for a bath, however your skin would probably fall off because this lake is extremely acidic with a pH close to zero. Sadly a side effect of this is that there is a lot of acid rain in the region which can damage ecosystems. The other lake is located in an inactive crater and surrounded by a could forest so maybe a better place for a swim. 

The picture that made me want to write about Poas.          Laguna Caliente
(both from Earth on Fire, my fave book in the world apart from War and Peace and Comet in Moominland)

Right I'm going to bathe in acid and eat a creme egg and maybe do some origami.
p.s sorry for lack of volcanic activity but have just started a new job.