1.
Summit
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A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Costa Rica
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It has a population of around 4.5 million, of whom nearly a quarter live in the metropolitan area of the capital and largest city, San José. Costa Rica was sparsely inhabited by people before coming under Spanish rule in the 16th century. Since then, Costa Rica has remained among the most stable, prosperous, following a brief civil war, it permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army. Costa Rica is a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. The country has consistently performed favourably in the Human Development Index, placing 69th in the world as of 2015 and its rapidly developing economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include sectors such as finance, pharmaceuticals, and ecotourism. Costa Rica is known for its environmental policies, being the only country to meet all five UNDP criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. Costa Rica officially plans to become a country by 2021. In 2012, it became the first country in the Americas to ban recreational hunting, historians have classified the indigenous people of Costa Rica as belonging to the Intermediate Area, where the peripheries of the Mesoamerican and Andean native cultures overlapped. More recently, pre-Columbian Costa Rica has also described as part of the Isthmo-Colombian Area. The oldest evidence of occupation in Costa Rica is associated with the arrival of various groups of hunter-gatherers about 10,000 to 7,000 years BCE in the Turrialba Valley. The presence of Clovis culture type spearheads and arrows from South America opens the possibility that, in this area, agriculture became evident in the populations that lived in Costa Rica about 5,000 years ago. They mainly grew tubers and roots, for the first and second millennia BCE there were already settled farming communities. These were small and scattered, although the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture as the livelihood in the territory is still unknown. The earliest use of pottery appears around 2,000 to 3,000 BCE, shards of pots, cylindrical vases, platters, gourds and other forms of vases decorated with grooves, prints, and some modelled after animals have been found. The impact of indigenous peoples on modern Costa Rican culture has been small compared to other nations. Costa Rica was described as the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all America by a Spanish governor in 1719, for all these reasons, Costa Rica was, by and large, unappreciated and overlooked by the Spanish Crown and left to develop on its own. Costa Rica became a democracy with no oppressed mestizo or indigenous class. It was not long before Spanish settlers turned to the hills, where they found rich volcanic soil, like the rest of Central America, Costa Rica never fought for independence from Spain
4.
Mountain range
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A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
5.
Cordillera Central (Costa Rica)
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The Cordillera Central is a volcanic mountain range in central Costa Rica which continues from the Continental Divide to east of Cordillera de Tilarán. It extends 80 km from Tapezco Pass to the Turrialba Volcano and it is separated from Cordillera de Tilarán by Balsa River and Platanar and Zarcero hills. It contains four large volcanoes Poás, Barva, Irazú and Turrialba, the highest peak is Irazú at 3,432 m. South of the range lie elevated plains of central tectonic depression of Costa Rican Central Valley, Cordillera Centrals four main volcanoes are protected as national parks. Volcanic massif of the Poás Volcano is the feature of Poás Volcano National Park. Barva Volcano features prominent hydrothermal activity and is a part of Braulio Carrillo National Park, Irazú Volcano National Park contains Irazú Volcano, the highest volcano of Costa Rica. The significant elevation of the volcano makes it a site for telecommunications, many national television. Turrialba Volcano National Park centered on Turrialba Volcano features fumarolic activity and gas emissions
6.
Stratovolcano
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A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a profile and periodic explosive eruptions and effusive eruptions. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes typically cools and hardens before spreading far due to high viscosity, the magma forming this lava is often felsic, having high-to-intermediate levels of silica, with lesser amounts of less-viscous mafic magma. Extensive felsic lava flows are uncommon, but have travelled as far as 15 km, stratovolcanoes are sometimes called composite volcanoes because of their composite layered structure built up from sequential outpourings of eruptive materials. They are among the most common types of volcanoes, in contrast to the less common shield volcanoes, two famous stratovolcanoes are Krakatoa, best known for its catastrophic eruption in 1883 and Vesuvius, famous for its destruction of the towns Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 CE. Both eruptions claimed thousands of lives, in modern times, Mount Saint Helens and Mount Pinatubo have erupted catastrophically. Existence of stratovolcanoes has not been proved on other bodies of the solar system with one exception. Their existence was suggested for some isolated massifs on Mars, e. g. Zephyria Tholus, stratovolcanoes are common at subduction zones, forming chains along plate tectonic boundaries where oceanic crust is drawn under continental crust or another oceanic plate. The release of water from hydrated minerals is termed dewatering, and occurs at pressures and temperatures for each mineral. The magma then rises through the crust, incorporating silica-rich crustal rock, when the magma nears the top surface, it pools in a magma chamber under or within the volcano. There, the low pressure allows water and other volatiles dissolved in the magma to escape from solution, as occurs when a bottle of carbonated water is opened. Once a critical volume of magma and gas accumulates, the obstacle of the cone is overcome. In recorded history, explosive eruptions at subduction zone volcanoes have posed the greatest hazard to civilizations. Subduction-zone stratovolcanoes, such as Mount St. Helens, Mount Etna and Mount Pinatubo, typically erupt with explosive force, as a consequence, the tremendous internal pressures of the trapped volcanic gases remain in the pasty magma. Following the breaching of the chamber, the magma degasses explosively. The gases and water out with speed and force. Since 1600 CE, nearly 300,000 people have killed by volcanic eruptions. Most deaths were caused by flows and mudflows, deadly hazards that often accompany explosive eruptions of subduction-zone stratovolcanoes
7.
Types of volcanic eruptions
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Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra, and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often named after famous volcanoes where that type of behavior has been observed, some volcanoes may exhibit only one characteristic type of eruption during a period of activity, while others may display an entire sequence of types all in one eruptive series. There are three different types of eruptions, the most well-observed are magmatic eruptions, which involve the decompression of gas within magma that propels it forward. Phreatomagmatic eruptions are another type of eruption, driven by the compression of gas within magma. Within these wide-defining eruptive types are several subtypes, the weakest are Hawaiian and submarine, then Strombolian, followed by Vulcanian and Surtseyan. The stronger eruptive types are Pelean eruptions, followed by Plinian eruptions, subglacial and phreatic eruptions are defined by their eruptive mechanism, and vary in strength. An important measure of strength is Volcanic Explosivity Index, an order of magnitude scale ranging from 0 to 8 that often correlates to eruptive types. Explosive eruptions are characterized by gas-driven explosions that propels magma and tephra, effusive eruptions, meanwhile, are characterized by the outpouring of lava without significant explosive eruption. Volcanic eruptions vary widely in strength, on the one extreme there are effusive Hawaiian eruptions, which are characterized by lava fountains and fluid lava flows, which are typically not very dangerous. On the other extreme, Plinian eruptions are large, violent, volcanoes are not bound to one eruptive style, and frequently display many different types, both passive and explosive, even the span of a single eruptive cycle. Volcanoes do not always erupt vertically from a crater near their peak. Some volcanoes exhibit lateral and fissure eruptions, notably, many Hawaiian eruptions start from rift zones, and some of the strongest Surtseyan eruptions develop along fracture zones. Scientists believed that pulses of magma mixed together in the chamber before climbing upward—a process estimated to several thousands of years. But Columbia University volcanologists found that the eruption of Costa Rica’s Irazú Volcano in 1963 was likely triggered by magma that took a route from the mantle over just a few months. The volcanic explosivity index is a scale, from 0 to 8 and it is used by the Smithsonian Institutions Global Volcanism Program in assessing the impact of historic and prehistoric lava flows. It operates in a way similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes, the vast majority of volcanic eruptions are of VEIs between 0 and 2. Volcanic eruptions by VEI index Magmatic eruptions produce juvenile clasts during explosive decompression from gas release, Hawaiian eruptions are a type of volcanic eruption, named after the Hawaiian volcanoes with which this eruptive type is hallmark. Hawaiian eruptions are the calmest types of events, characterized by the effusive eruption of very fluid basalt-type lavas with low gaseous content
8.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
9.
PH
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In chemistry, pH is a numeric scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. It is approximately the negative of the base 10 logarithm of the concentration, measured in units of moles per liter. More precisely it is the negative of the logarithm to base 10 of the activity of the hydrogen ion, solutions with a pH less than 7 are acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic. Pure water is neutral, at pH7, being neither an acid nor a base, contrary to popular belief, the pH value can be less than 0 or greater than 14 for very strong acids and bases respectively. The pH scale is traceable to a set of standard solutions whose pH is established by international agreement, the pH of aqueous solutions can be measured with a glass electrode and a pH meter, or an indicator. In the first papers, the notation had the H as a subscript to the p, as so. The exact meaning of the p in pH is disputed, but according to the Carlsberg Foundation and it has also been suggested that the p stands for the German Potenz, others refer to French puissance. Another suggestion is that the p stands for the Latin terms pondus hydrogenii, potentia hydrogenii and it is also suggested that Sørensen used the letters p and q simply to label the test solution and the reference solution. Currently in chemistry, the p stands for decimal cologarithm of, PH is defined as the decimal logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion activity, aH+, in a solution. P H = − log 10 = log 10 For example and this definition was adopted because ion-selective electrodes, which are used to measure pH, respond to activity. For H+ number of electrons transferred is one and it follows that electrode potential is proportional to pH when pH is defined in terms of activity. The reference electrode may be a silver chloride electrode or a calomel electrode, the hydrogen-ion selective electrode is a standard hydrogen electrode. Reference electrode | concentrated solution of KCl || test solution | H2 | Pt Firstly, the cell is filled with a solution of hydrogen ion activity. Then the emf, EX, of the cell containing the solution of unknown pH is measured. PH = pH + E S − E X z The difference between the two measured emf values is proportional to pH and this method of calibration avoids the need to know the standard electrode potential. The proportionality constant, 1/z is ideally equal to 12.303 R T / F the Nernstian slope, to apply this process in practice, a glass electrode is used rather than the cumbersome hydrogen electrode. A combined glass electrode has a reference electrode. It is calibrated against buffer solutions of hydrogen ion activity
10.
Acid rain
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Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions. It can have effects on plants, aquatic animals and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, some governments have made efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere with positive results. Nitrogen oxides can also be produced naturally by lightning strikes, Acid rain is a popular term referring to the deposition of a mixture from wet and dry acidic components. Distilled water, once carbon dioxide is removed, has a neutral pH of 7, liquids with a pH less than 7 are acidic, and those with a pH greater than 7 are alkaline. Clean or unpolluted rain has an acidic pH, but usually no lower than 5, a common example is nitric acid produced by electric discharge in the atmosphere such as lightning. Acid deposition as an issue would include additional acids other than H2CO3. The corrosive effect of polluted, acidic city air on limestone and marble was noted in the 17th century by John Evelyn, since the Industrial Revolution, emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere have increased. In 1852, Robert Angus Smith was the first to show the relationship between rain and atmospheric pollution in Manchester, England. Though acidic rain was discovered in 1853, it was not until the late 1960s that scientists began widely observing and studying the phenomenon, the term acid rain was coined in 1872 by Robert Angus Smith. Canadian Harold Harvey was among the first to research a dead lake, occasional pH readings in rain and fog water of well below 2.4 have been reported in industrialized areas. Industrial acid rain is a problem in China and Russia. These areas all burn sulfur-containing coal to heat and electricity. The problem of acid rain has not only increased with population and industrial growth, the use of tall smokestacks to reduce local pollution has contributed to the spread of acid rain by releasing gases into regional atmospheric circulation. Often deposition occurs a considerable distance downwind of the emissions, with mountainous regions tending to receive the greatest deposition, an example of this effect is the low pH of rain which falls in Scandinavia. The earliest report about acid rain in the United States was from the evidence from Hubbard Brook Valley. In 1972, a group of scientists including Gene Likens discovered the rain that was deposited at White Mountains of New Hampshire was acidic, the pH of the sample was measured to be 4.03 at Hubbard Brook. The Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study followed up with a series of research that analyzed the effects of acid rain
11.
Anno Domini
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The terms anno Domini and before Christ are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term anno Domini is Medieval Latin and means in the year of the Lord, There is no year zero in this scheme, so the year AD1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus of Scythia Minor, the Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world today. Traditionally, English followed Latin usage by placing the AD abbreviation before the year number, however, BC is placed after the year number, which also preserves syntactic order. The abbreviation is widely used after the number of a century or millennium. Because BC is the English abbreviation for Before Christ, it is sometimes concluded that AD means After Death. However, this would mean that the approximate 33 years commonly associated with the life of Jesus would not be included in either of the BC, astronomical year numbering and ISO8601 avoid words or abbreviations related to Christianity, but use the same numbers for AD years. The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus to enumerate the years in his Easter table. His system was to replace the Diocletian era that had used in an old Easter table because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. The last year of the old table, Diocletian 247, was followed by the first year of his table. Thus Dionysius implied that Jesus Incarnation occurred 525 years earlier, without stating the year during which his birth or conception occurred. Blackburn & Holford-Strevens briefly present arguments for 2 BC,1 BC, There were inaccuracies in the list of consuls There were confused summations of emperors regnal years It is not known how Dionysius established the year of Jesuss birth. It is convenient to initiate a calendar not from the day of an event. For example, the Islamic calendar begins not from the date of the Hegira, at the time, it was believed by some that the Resurrection and end of the world would occur 500 years after the birth of Jesus. The old Anno Mundi calendar theoretically commenced with the creation of the based on information in the Old Testament. It was believed that, based on the Anno Mundi calendar, Anno Mundi 6000 was thus equated with the resurrection and the end of the world but this date had already passed in the time of Dionysius. The Anglo-Saxon historian the Venerable Bede, who was familiar with the work of Dionysius Exiguus, used Anno Domini dating in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731. e. On the continent of Europe, Anno Domini was introduced as the era of choice of the Carolingian Renaissance by the English cleric and scholar Alcuin in the late eighth century
12.
Cloud forest
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Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained. Dependent on local climate, which is affected by the distance to the sea, the exposition and the latitude, typically, there is a relatively small band of altitude in which the atmospheric environment is suitable for cloud forest development. This is characterized by persistent fog at the level, resulting in the reduction of direct sunlight. Within cloud forests, much of the moisture available to plants arrives in the form of fog drip, annual rainfall can range from 500 to 10,000 mm/year and mean temperature between 8 and 20 °C. Only 1% of the global woodland consists of cloud forests, important areas of cloud forest are in Central and South America, East and Central Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua-New Guinea, and in the Caribbean. Although far from being accepted as true cloud forests, several forests in temperate regions have strong similarities with tropical cloud forests. The term is confused by occasional reference to cloud forests in tropical countries as temperate due to the cooler climate associated with these misty forests. Trees in these regions are generally shorter and more heavily stemmed than in forests in the same regions, often with gnarled trunks and branches, forming dense. Their leaves become smaller, thicker and harder with increasing altitude, the high moisture promotes the development of a high biomass and biodiversity of epiphyte, particularly bryophytes, lichens, ferns, bromeliads and orchids. The number of plants can be very high. An important feature of cloud forests is the tree crowns can intercept the wind-driven cloud moisture and this fog drip occurs when water droplets from the fog adhere to the needles or leaves of trees or other objects, coalesce into larger drops and then drop to the ground. It can be an important contribution to the hydrologic cycle, watershed function, Because of the cloud-stripping strategy, the effective rainfall can be doubled in dry seasons and increase the wet season rainfall by about 10%. Vegetation, Tropical montane cloud forests are not as species-rich as tropical lowland forests, for example, the Cerro de la Neblina, a cloud-covered mountain in the south of Venezuela, accommodates many shrubs, orchids, and insectivorous plants which are restricted to this mountain only. Fauna, The endemism in animals is very high. In Peru, more than one-third of the 270 endemic birds, mammals, one of the best-known cloud forest mammals is the mountain gorilla. Many of those animals have important functions, such as seed dispersal. In 1970, the extent of cloud forests on the Earth was around 50 million hectares
13.
2009 Cinchona earthquake
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The 2009 Costa Rica earthquake occurred at 1,21,35 pm local time on January 8 with a moment magnitude of 6.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The shock took place in northern Costa Rica,30 kilometres north-northwest of San José and was felt throughout Costa Rica, the earthquake took at least 34 lives, including at least three children, left about 64 people missing, and injured at least 91. Hundreds of people were trapped and two villages were cut off, most of the victims died when a landslide occurred near the La Paz waterfall by the Poás Volcano, and 452 people including 369 tourists were evacuated from the area in helicopters. 1,244 people were displaced in the immediate aftermath, in addition, a hotel, houses, roads, and vehicles were damaged, and several bridges were also destroyed. The town of Cinchona was heavily hit, and all of the buildings there were heavily damaged, power was temporarily disrupted in San José. The Costa Rican Red Cross sent at least 400 people to assist in the recovery, the agency said, Some 42 communities were affected and sustained serious impacts on civil and electrical infrastructure. Are going to need a lot of help, four helicopters were also dispatched in order to help aid efforts. The Comisión Nacional de Emergencias requested private helicopters to help with the aid, additionally, the United States and Colombia dispatched helicopters with aid to assist with the relief and recovery efforts. About 2,000 aftershocks were felt throughout Costa Rica, on January 12, President Oscar Arias declared a five-day period of national grieving out of respect for the victims, and asked the organizers of the Fiestas de Palmares to postpone them. On January 13, the Banco de Costa Rica announced that it would offer home financing credit to homeowners who want to rebuild or fix their home, List of earthquakes in 2009 List of earthquakes in Costa Rica
14.
Phreatic eruption
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A phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion, ultravulcanian eruption or steam-blast eruption, occurs when magma heats ground or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma causes near-instantaneous evaporation to steam, resulting in an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, at Mount St. Helens, hundreds of steam explosions preceded a 1980 plinian eruption of the volcano. A less intense geothermal event may result in a mud volcano, phreatic eruptions typically include steam and rock fragments, the inclusion of lava is unusual. The temperature of the fragments can range from cold to incandescent, if molten magma is included, it is classified as a phreatomagmatic eruption. These eruptions occasionally create broad, low-relief craters called maars, phreatic explosions can be accompanied by carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide gas emissions. The former can asphyxiate at sufficient concentration, the latter is a broad spectrum poison, a 1979 phreatic eruption on the island of Java killed 140 people, most of whom were overcome by poisonous gases. Phreatic eruptions are classed as volcanic eruptions because a phreatic eruption could bring juvenile material to the surface and it is believed that the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, which obliterated most of the volcanic island and created the loudest sound in recorded history, was a phreatic event. Kilauea, in Hawaii, has a record of phreatic explosions. Additional examples are the 1963–65 eruption of Surtsey, the 1965 eruption of Taal Volcano, the 1982 Mount Tarumae eruption, mayon Volcano produced a surprise phreatic eruption lasting 73 seconds
15.
Landslide
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A landslide, also known as a landslip, is a form of mass wasting that includes a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes, and shallow debris flows. Landslides can occur underwater, called a submarine landslide, coastal, although the action of gravity is the primary driving force for a landslide to occur, there are other contributing factors affecting the original slope stability. Typically, pre-conditional factors build up specific sub-surface conditions that make the prone to failure. Landslides occur when the changes from a stable to an unstable condition. A change in the stability of a slope can be caused by a number of factors, slope material that becomes saturated with water may develop into a debris flow or mud flow. The resulting slurry of rock and mud may pick up trees, houses and cars, debris flow is often mistaken for flash flood, but they are entirely different processes. Muddy-debris flows in alpine areas cause severe damage to structures and infrastructure, muddy-debris flows can start as a result of slope-related factors and shallow landslides can dam stream beds, resulting in temporary water blockage. As the impoundments fail, an effect may be created, with a remarkable growth in the volume of the flowing mass. The solid–liquid mixture can reach densities of up to 2,000 kg/m3, for a small basin in the Italian Alps affected by a debris flow, estimated a peak discharge of 750 m3/s for a section located in the middle stretch of the main channel. At the same section, the maximum foreseeable water discharge, was 19 m3/s. Earthflows are downslope, viscous flows of saturated, fine-grained materials, typically, they can move at speeds from 0.17 to 20 km/h. Though these are a lot like mudflows, overall they are slow moving and are covered with solid material carried along by flow from within. They are different from fluid flows which are more rapid, clay, fine sand and silt, and fine-grained, pyroclastic material are all susceptible to earthflows. The velocity of the earthflow is all dependent on how much content is in the flow itself, if there is more water content in the flow. This thereby creates a bulging lobe which advances with a slow, as these lobes spread out, drainage of the mass increases and the margins dry out, thereby lowering the overall velocity of the flow. This process causes the flow to thicken, the bulbous variety of earthflows are not that spectacular, but they are much more common than their rapid counterparts. They develop a sag at their heads and are derived from the slumping at the source. Earthflows occur much more during periods of precipitation, which saturates the ground
16.
Geyser
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A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist in only a few places on Earth, generally all geyser field sites are located near active volcanic areas, and the geyser effect is due to the proximity of magma. Generally, surface water works its way down to a depth of around 2,000 metres where it contacts hot rocks. The resultant boiling of the water results in the geyser effect of hot water. Over one thousand known geysers exist worldwide, at least 1,283 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States, and an average of 465 geysers are active there in a given year. Like many other phenomena, geysers are not unique to planet Earth. Jet-like eruptions, often referred to as cryogeysers, have been observed on several of the moons of the solar system. Due to the low ambient pressures, these eruptions consist of vapor without liquid, they are more easily visible by particles of dust. Water vapor jets have been observed near the pole of Saturns moon Enceladus. There are also signs of carbon dioxide eruptions from the polar ice cap of Mars. In the latter two cases, instead of being driven by energy, the eruptions seem to rely on solar heating via a solid-state greenhouse effect. The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of a spring at Haukadalur, Iceland, that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, to gush. Geysers are generally associated with volcanic areas, as the water boils, the resulting pressure forces a superheated column of steam and water to the surface through the geysers internal plumbing. The formation of geysers specifically requires the combination of three conditions that are usually found in volcanic terrain. The heat needed for geyser formation comes from magma that needs to be near the surface of the earth, the fact that geysers need heat much higher than normally found near the earths surface is the reason they are associated with volcanoes or volcanic areas. The pressures encountered at the areas where the water is heated make the point of the water much higher than at normal atmospheric pressures. The water ejected from a geyser travels underground through deep, pressurized fissures in the Earths crust, in order for the heated water to form a geyser, a plumbing system made of fractures, fissures, porous spaces, and sometimes cavities is required. This includes a reservoir to hold the water while it is being heated, Geysers are generally aligned along faults
17.
Fumarole
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A fumarole is an opening in a planets crust, often in areas surrounding volcanoes, which emits steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen sulfide. The steam forms when superheated water vaporizes as its pressure drops when it emerges from the ground, the name solfatara, from the Italian solfo, sulfur, is given to fumaroles that emit sulfurous gases. Fumaroles may occur along tiny cracks or long fissures, in clusters or fields. A fumarole field is an area of springs and gas vents where magma or hot igneous rocks at shallow depth release gases or interact with groundwater. From the perspective of groundwater, a fumarole could be described as a hot spring that boils off all its water before the water reaches the surface. Fumaroles may persist for decades or centuries if located above a persistent heat source, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, for example, was formed during the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in Alaska. Initially, thousands of fumaroles occurred in the ash from the eruption. An estimated four thousand fumaroles exist within the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park in the United States, in April 2006 fumarole emissions killed three ski-patrol workers east of Chair 3 at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California. The workers were overpowered by toxic fumes that had accumulated in a crevasse they had fallen into, another example is an array of fumaroles in the Valley of Desolation in Morne Trois Pitons National Park in Dominica. Boiling Lake Mazuku Mofetta Mudpot Mud volcano USGS Photo Glossary, Fumarole Sulfur Mining on Gunung Welirang Volcano Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Fumarole
18.
Arenal Volcano
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Arenal Volcano is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around 90 km northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna. The Arenal volcano measures at least 1,633 metres high and it is conically shaped with a crater 140 metres in diameter. Geologically, Arenal is considered a volcano and it is estimated to be less than 7,500 years old. It is also known as Pan de Azúcar, Canaste, Volcan Costa Rica, the volcano was dormant for hundreds of years and exhibited a single crater at its summit, with minor fumaroles activity, covered by dense vegetation. In 1968 it erupted unexpectedly, destroying the town of Tabacón. Due to the three more craters were created on the western flanks but only one of them still exists today. Since 2010, Arenal has been dormant, Arenal is one of seven historically active Costa Rican volcanoes along with Poás, Irazú, Miravalles, Orosí, Rincón de la Vieja complex, and Turrialba. It was Costa Ricas most active volcano until 2010, and one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world and it has been studied by seismologists for many years. The volcano is located at the center of Arenal Volcano National Park in the zone of the country,15 kilometres southwest of the La Fortuna district in San Carlos. Arenal Volcano area is an important watershed for the Arenal Lake Reservoir, the reservoirs water is used for hydroelectric power. It is also connected to the national system, Chato is a dormant stratovolcanic cone. It is believed Chato first erupted 38,000 years ago during the Pleistocene period, chatito 10°26′17″N 84°41′13″W is a lava dome with an elevation of 1,100 metres. Arenal is the youngest and most active of all the volcanoes in Costa Rica, scientists have been able to date its activity back to more than 7000 years ago. The area remained unexplored until 1937, when a documented expedition took place to reach the summit. It has been considered eruptive since 1968, on Monday, July 29,1968 at 7,30 AM, the Arenal Volcano suddenly and violently erupted. The eruptions continued unabated for several days, burying over 15 square kilometers under rocks, lava and ash. When it was finally over, the eruptions had killed 87 people and buried 3 small villages – Tabacón, Pueblo Nuevo and San Luís –, crops were spoiled, property was ruined, and large amounts of livestock were killed. At the height of its ferocious activity, the volcano flung giant rocks – some weighing several tons – more than a kilometer away at a rate of 600 meters per second and these explosions would go on to form three new active craters
19.
Barva Volcano
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Barva Volcano is an andesitic volcanic shield complex in central Costa Rica,22 km north of San José, in Heredia Province. On the eastern side of the mountain it has a lake in what was the crater, called Laguna de Barva. It is located in the agricultural community of Sacramento. Barva has a dozen different eruptive spots in the summit and some parasitic cones on the flanks of the mountain and its three principal summits visible from the Central Valley give it the common local name of Las Tres Marías. Four pyroclastic cones are present within the 2 x 3 km caldera at the central, the southwestern peak contains four cones, one of which has a crater lake. The last confirmed eruptive activity at Barva Volcano has been dated to 8,050 years ago, there were reports of eruptions in the 1760s and in 1867, but investigations at the summit did not find evidence to confirm the reports. Costa Rican National Seismolgical Network, Barva
20.
Cerro de la Muerte
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Cerro de la Muerte is the highest point in the Costa Rican section of the Inter-American Highway. However, the peak is now easily accessible since the highway close by. A drivable track from the leads to a peak, with its cluster of telecommunications aerials. A short hike is also available from the highway to another peak marked with a barrel, a sign marks the high point of the highway at 3,335 meters, from where the vehicle track and hiking trail begin. At this altitude, overnight temperatures can dip below freezing, but the sun soon raises the temperatures in the morning and this mountain is in Talamanca range, which extends from eastern Costa Rica into neighbouring western Panama. The higher areas are páramo habitat, with stunted shrubs, dwarf bamboo, and tree ferns, below this zone, the natural vegetation is oak forest with bamboo understory, an excellent place to see the charismatic resplendent quetzal. Nearly 50% of the species recorded from Cerro de la Muerte are endemic to the Talamanca range. These include fiery-throated hummingbird, timberline wren, sooty robin, black-billed nightingale-thrush, peg-billed finch, Cerro de la Muerte Biological Station Helicopter crashes in Cerro de la Muerte, La Nación
21.
Cocos Island
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Cocos Island is an island designated as a National Park off the shore of Costa Rica, that does not allow inhabitants other than Costa Rican Park Rangers. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the province of Puntarenas and it is located in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 550 km from the Pacific shore of Costa Rica. With an area of approximately 23.85 km2, about 8 km ×3 km and a perimeter of around 23.3 km, this island is more or less rectangular in shape. Surrounded by deep waters with counter-currents, Cocos Island is admired by scuba divers for its populations of hammerhead sharks, rays, dolphins and other large marine species. The extremely wet climate and oceanic character give Cocos an ecological character that is not shared with either the Galápagos Archipelago or any of the islands in this region of the world. Cocos Island was declared a Costa Rican National Park by means of Executive Decree in 1978, Cocos Island National Park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. In 2002, the World Heritage Site designation was extended to include an expanded zone of 1,997 km2. In addition, it is included in the list of Wetlands of International Importance, thanks to the breathtaking marine life in its waters, Cocos Island was named one of the best 10 scuba diving spots in the world by PADI and a must do according to diving experts. For many, the attractions are the large pelagic fish species. The largest schools of hammerhead sharks in the World are consistently reported there, encounters with dozens if not hundreds of these and other large animals are nearly certain in every dive. Smaller and colorful species are abundant in one of the most extensive. The famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau visited the island several times and in 1994 called it the most beautiful island in the world and these numerous accolades highlight the urgent need to protect Cocos Island and surrounding waters from illegal large-scale fishing, poaching and other threats. The only persons allowed to live on Cocos Island are Costa Rican Park Rangers, tourists and ship crew members are allowed ashore only with permission of island rangers, and are not permitted to camp, stay overnight or collect any flora, fauna or minerals from the island. Occasional amateur radio DXpeditions are allowed to visit and this island is popular in pirate lore as well. It is said that over 300 expeditions have gone in search of such as the hoard of Benito Bonito, the Treasure of Lima. Some incidents of small caches have been discovered, leading many to believe the stories of vast pirate treasures to be valid, Cocos Island is an oceanic island of both volcanic and tectonic origin. It is the only emergent island of the Cocos Plate, one of the tectonic plates. Potassium-argon dating established the age of the oldest rocks between 1.91 and 2.44 million years and it is composed primarily of basalt, the landscape is mountainous and irregular and the summit is Cerro Iglesias at 575.5 m
22.
Miravalles Volcano
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The Miravalles Volcano is an andesitic stratovolcano in Costa Rica. The caldera was formed during several major eruptions that produced voluminous dacitic-rhyolitic pyroclastic flows between about 1.5 and 0.6 million years ago. The only reported historical activity was a small steam explosion on the SW flank in 1946. High heat flow remains, and Miravalles is the site of the largest developed geothermal field in Costa Rica, the Miravalles Volcano reaches an elevation of 6,653 feet 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
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Geography of Costa Rica
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Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, with a total of 1,290 km of coastline, Costa Rica shares a border with Nicaragua to the north and with Panama to the south. The area of Costa Rica is 51,100 km² of which 51,060 km² is land and 40 km² is water, Costa Rica claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles. The spine of the country produces many major river systems, the Tilaran Range is part of the Continental Divide east of Lake Arenal and the nearby active volcano Arenal, and running into the Cordillera Central range further east. It is located in the Abangares district of the province of Guanacaste, at the edge of the range is the Monteverde cloud forest preserve, a major ecotourism destination. The Central Range continues the Continental Divide east of Cordillera de Tilarán and it has four large volcanoes, Poás, Barva, Irazú and Turrialba. The highest peak is Irazú at 3,432 m, the Guanacaste Range is in northern Costa Rica near the border with Nicaragua. The range forms part of the region of the Continental Divide. The countrys highest peaks lie in this range, the Cerro Chirripó. Much of the region is covered by the forest, the Cerros de Escazú borders the Central Valley to the south and is considered the northernmost portion of the Cordillera de Talamanca. Like all Central American countries, Costa Rica is considered part of a biodiversity hotspot, according to the INBio, about 4. 5% of the worlds biodiversity can be found in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is home to about 12,119 species of plants, there are 117 native trees and more than 1,400 types of orchids, a third of them can be found in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Almost a half of the land is covered by forests. Deforestation is a process, with more than 8,100 ha of forest being lost annually. The main reason for such high levels is to make plains for cattle ranching. Wildlife diversity is high, there are 441 species of amphibians. Costa Rica has high levels of endemism,81 species of amphibians, according to the World Conservation Monitoring Centre,209 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and plants are endangered. Some of the countrys most endangered species are the Harpy eagle, the Giant anteater, the Golden toad, IUCN reports the Golden toad as extinct
24.
Turrialba Volcano
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Turrialba Volcano is an active volcano in central Costa Rica that has been explosively eruptive in recent years including 2016 and in January, March and April 2017. The stratovolcano is 3,340 m high and is about 45 minutes from the Atlantic slope town of Turrialba, the summit has three craters, the largest of which has a diameter of 50 m. Below the summit is a range and montane forest, with ferns, bromeliads, lichens. Most of the forest is primary or secondary forest. Turrialba is adjacent to Irazú and both are among Costa Ricas largest volcanoes, Turrialba has had at least five large explosive eruptions in last 3500 years. On clear days both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea can be seen from the summit, the volcano is named after its canton, Turrialba, in Costa Ricas Cartago Province. There is no consensus on the origin of the name Turrialba. The general consensus is that Turrialba derives from the local Indian and this volcano is monitored by the Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project. During the 19th century, the volcano erupted and emitted ash several times, the last major eruption was in 1866. Small signs of activity start in 1996, in January 2001, the volcano reported increased activity, displaying strong fumarole activity at the central craters. The volcanic activities have increased since 2005, on March 31,2007, the volcano started to show some activity with ash eruptions. The National Park area opened for visitors was closed from 2009 to 2011, on January 8,2010, a phreatic eruption occurred, creating a new opening near the crater on the southwest, and the temperature increased from 200 to 600 °C. Two villages, La Central and El Retiro, were evacuated, on January,2012 a new opening on the west of the crater was created after a phreatic eruption. On April 12,2012, an eruption occurred. On May 21,2013, at 08,52, a gas explosion widened several openings near the crater that appeared in 2010 and 2012. In July 2013 researchers found that tremors around the area increased from about twenty earthquakes a day, on October 17,2014, the quantity of tremors increased from around 50-100 a day, to 200 a day. On October 29,2014, at around 10,10 and this eruption sent a large amount of volcanic material to areas up to 40 km away. On March 12,2015, eruptions at around 11,00 and 14,12 sent ashes through all the Central Valley, the Juan Suantamaría and Tobías Bolaños international airports were closed due to visibility being less than 100 meters
25.
Acatenango
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Acatenango is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, close to the city of Antigua. The volcano has two peaks, Pico Mayor and Yepocapa which is known as Tres Hermanas. Acatenango is joined with Volcán de Fuego and collectively the complex is known as La Horqueta. The Fuego-Acatenango massif comprises a string of five or more vents along a north-south trend that is perpendicular to that of the Central American Volcanic Arc in Guatemala. From north to south, known centres of volcanism are Ancient Acatenango, Yepocapa, Pico Mayor de Acatenango, Meseta, volcanism along the trend stretches back more than 200,000 years. Although many of the centres have been active contemporaneously, there is a sequence of younger volcanism. This massive volcano complex towers more than 3,500 metres above the Pacific coastal plain to the south and 2,000 metres above the Guatemalan Highlands to the north, the volcano complex comprises remnants of multiple eruptive centres, which periodically have collapsed to form huge debris avalanches. The largest of these avalanches extended more than 50 kilometres from its source and these phreatic explosions generated ballistic volcanic bombs that fell near the summit craters and fine volcanic ash that fell up to 25 km away. In prehistoric time, Acatenango has erupted explosively to form widespread fall deposits, hot pyroclastic flows, there have been numerous eruptions during the past 80,000 years from vents along the massif. The most recent explosive eruptions of Acatenango occurred 1,900 years ago,2,300 years ago, if such eruptions were to recur, many people and costly infrastructure would be at risk. The volcano has potential to produce huge debris avalanches that could inundate large areas of the Pacific coastal plain, in areas around the volcanoes and downslope toward the coastal plain, more than 100,000 people are potentially at risk from these and other flowage phenomena. For visitors to Antigua in Guatemala, Acatenango Volcano and the neighbouring Volcan de Fuego can be an irresistible adventure. While it would be unsafe and irresponsible to hike the active Volcan de Fuego, it is possible to hike to the summit of Acatenango and it is a tough hike up steep slopes with loose volcanic rocks and the altitude can be a challenge for some. There are different options,1 day or 2 days tours available from Antigua, to get the most from the hike, it is best to spend the night on the volcano, so that it is possible to see Fuego erupt at night, when it is most impressive. List of volcanoes in Guatemala Mountain peaks of North America List of stratovolcanoes Media related to Acatenango volcano at Wikimedia Commons Excerpts from, Vallance,2001, Volcano Hazards at Fuego and Acatenango, Guatemala, USGS Open-File Report 01-431 Acatenango
26.
Almolonga
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The Almolonga volcano, usually called Cerro Quemado is an andesitic stratovolcano in the south-western department of Quetzaltenango in Guatemala. The volcano is located near the town of Almolonga, just south of Quetzaltenango, Almolonga stratovolcano is the oldest edifice and underwent collapse prior to the caldera forming eruption of Lake Atitlan, the major chronological marker of volcanism in the region. A lava dome emerged inside the collapse scar subsequently,1818 an eruption formed a block lava flow over half a year that travelled 2.5 km eastward. Lahars and further explosive activity are potential hazards from this volcano, list of volcanoes in Guatemala Almolonga. Siebert, Lee, Kimberly, Paul, Pullinger, Carlos R, the voluminous Acajutla debris avalanche from Santa Ana volcano, western El Salvador, and comparison with other Central American edifice-failure events. Geological Society of America Special Papers, michael Conway, F. Vallance, James W. Rose, William I. Cerro Quemado, Guatemala, the history and hazards of an exogenous volcanic dome complex. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
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