COSTA RICA - Cartago, Irazu Volcano Crater

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Location of Cartago and Irazu Volcano in COSTA RICA

Cartago is a city in Costa Rica, about 25 km east of the capital, San José. It is at an elevation of about 1435 m above sea level, at the base of the Irazú Volcano. Cartago is the capital of Cartago province. The city covers an area of 152,68 km². It includes the districts of city downtown : Oriental, Occidental (known as the typical downtown area), San Nicolás (the main entrance to the city, at west), El Carmen (north), Dulce Nombre, San Francisco (at south, San Francisco is known commonly as Aguacaliente), and Guadalupe (Arenilla). The city is part, with the cities of San Rafael de Oreamuno and Tejar del Guarco, of a continuous urban area that, in 2008, had a population of 156.600 inhabitants, according to the Statistics and Census Institute of Costa Rica.

The Irazú Volcano (Spanish : Volcán Irazú) is an active volcano in Costa Rica, situated in the Cordillera Central close to the city of Cartago. Its name could come from either the combination of "ara" (point) and "tzu" (Thunder)or a corruption of Iztarú, which was the name of an indigenous village on the flanks of the volcano. In Costa Rica it is known by the name of "El Coloso" (The Colossus) due to the catastrophes that it has provoked in the past.

The volcano's summit has several craters, one of which contains Diego de la Haya, a green crater lake of variable depth. It is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica. It is easily visited from San José, with a road leading right up to the summit craters and a weekly bus service to the top. It is thus a popular tourist spot. The volcano summit also spots a few television transmitters for television stations in San José.

From the top it is possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on a clear day. However, such clear days are very rare indeed, and it is typical for the volcano's summit to be covered in cloud for much of the time.

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Postcard sent by Laura, as "LauraCR"
Private swap - Reference CR001

Crater del Volcano Iratzu (Cartago)
Irazu Volcanbo Crater

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