i;o A YEAR OF COSTA RICAX XATURAL HISTORY 



S786 feet high, respectively) were above the clouds and the 

 same was true of the highest peaks which we could see to 

 the south, including presumably the highest mountains of 

 all Costa Rica. To the northeast Turrialba stood up splen- 

 didly and was about as much free from cloud as Irazu — 

 Turrialba being 11,224 ^^^^ ^"^ig^ (Pittier). Westwardly we 

 could look down the valley of the Rio Grande de Tarcoles, 

 which was not cloud-obscured until near its mouth, but to 

 the north we saw only great masses of white clouds, beauti- 

 ful to look upon as the rising sun shone on them. As 

 there seemed no reason for thinking that the cloud masses 

 below us would clear away we left the summit at 6.30 

 and returned to the tent for some breakfast. About eight 

 o'clock we set out to make the round of the daughter- 

 craters. 



The volcano proper of Irazu consists of a large incomplete 

 crater, here called the mother-crater (I of the sketch-plan) 

 which has a diameter of the greater part of a mile. Within 

 this are two daughter-craters whose combined east-west 

 diameters are nearly as great as that of the mother-crater 

 but whose north-south diameters are less, so that on the 

 south side a considerable area of the floor of the mother- 

 crater is left between its south wall and the south rims of 

 the daughter-craters. The southern rim or wall of the 

 mother-crater is of unequal height from point to point, one 

 of these peaks being the highest part of all Irazii, while 

 there is another high point at the eastern side of this mother 

 rim. The two daughter-craters are in plan somewhat the 

 shape of a figure eight, the smaller loop or crater being east, 

 the larger west. The smaller eastern crater (II of the sketch) 

 contains no secondary or "granddaughter" craters, the 

 larger western daughter-crater (III) contains eight distinct 

 granddaughter craters (A-J of same sketch) but two of these 

 latter (D and E) might be called twins. These eight grand- 



