CHAPTER VII 



THE VOLCANO IRA2U 



The volcano of Irazu, highest of the four great volcanoes 

 (Turrlalba, Irazu, Barba and Poas) of the central plateau, 

 and, with the exception of Buena Vista and Chirripo Grande, 

 the highest mountain in Costa Rica, reaches an altitude of 

 11,322 feet (Pittier). It is a huge, ''sprawling" mountain 

 with gradually sloping sides and an exceedingly irregular 

 skyline, and with no typical volcanic cone visible from 

 Cartago. The volcano dominated the country and the land- 

 scape from San Jose to Juan Vinas, and a year's residence 

 at its foot caused us to share the mingled love and awe with 

 which the Cartaginenses regarded "El Volcan." The south- 

 ern slopes, up to 9050 feet, were in 1910 covered with maize 

 and potato fields or cattle farms. Above that level — alas! 

 the line is constantly rising! — are the remnants of the vast 

 oak forests that formerly covered the whole mountain. 

 Above the oaks again are the cinders of the volcano proper. 

 The center of volcanic activity has moved steadily from 

 south to north over the crest of the mountain and there are 

 a number of abandoned, worn-out craters on the south 

 side. A very well-marked one is that occupied by the 

 Laguna del Reventado, described in the preceding chapter. 



The last great eruption of Irazu, leaving out of account 

 the steam from the solfataras on the north side, was in 1723. 

 A contemporary writer, Don Diego de la Haya, the governor 

 of Cartago, has an account of it which has been reprinted 

 by Don Cleto Gonzalez-Viquez. The eruption began on 

 the sixteenth of February, with feathery clouds of smoke 



