Volcano Poas National Park
Poas Volcano is a national park of Costa Rica, founded in 1971 on the country's most active volcano on an area of 65 km2. The height of the volcano itself is 2,708 meters. It impresses with its entertainment.
The volcano has a huge crater with a diameter of 2 km and a depth of almost three hundred meters. A hot lake formed at the bottom of the crater with temperatures reaching 95 °C in some places. It is difficult to breathe at the top of the volcano, as poisonous sulfuric and acidic fumes hover in the air.
The first recorded eruption of the Poas volcano was in 1747. Since then, he has shown his strength 60 more times, the strongest of which happened in 1910, when a large column of ash rose to a height of 8 km.
In the southeastern part of the volcano there is a secondary crater - Botos, active for at least 8 centuries. An amazing lake with a diameter of 400 meters, with rather cool water, has formed on its plane.
Poas Park has quite a large variety of flora and fauna. Magnolia trees can be found on the slopes of the volcano, and many varieties of orchids grow in the foothills. But most plants cannot grow to their normal size due to acid rain near the volcano. There are many birds hiding among the vegetation, such as quetzals, hummingbirds, tanagers, thrushes, flycatchers and toucans. In the surroundings you can meet: coyote, skunk, weasel, gray mountain squirrel, armadillo. In the tropical forests on the slopes of the volcano, many species that are on the verge of extinction hide from people: furrowed squirrels, queasels, Gray thrushes.
In 1989 and 1994, the water in the craters of the volcano evaporated completely, which is why acid rains became more frequent, causing a real attack. Almost all vegetation near the Poas volcano died, local residents had difficulty breathing, and metal structures quickly rusted.
