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Miravalles Volcano

Rio Celeste at Miravalles Volcano
Miravalles, the highest volcano of the Guanacaste Mountain range at 2,028 meters above sea level is located in the Miravalles Protection Area north of the City of Bagaces. Its formation dates back about 600 thousands years and its last lava tap emerged 7 thousands years ago.

The last recent eruption was recorded in 1946 when several steam explosion clouded the sky of Guanacaste

Although this colossus does not show volcanic activity from its cone, a section at its base, known as Las Hornillas, is a popular attraction boasting some of the most interesting volcanic manifestation of the country, including mud and clay fumaroles bubbling in water wells of up to 200 degrees Celsius.

A serpentine footpath leads the visitor through these natural wonders amid the warmth of the steam generated by the energy that flows underground.

According to Johnny Alvarez, a tour guide and one of the owners of Las Hornillas, the great amount of minerals that are in the volcanic mud, including sulfur, iron and zinc, is very effective to cleanse the body.
For this reason the mud baths are one of the greatest attraction of the area.

In spite of its calm aspect, its interior houses an incredible amount of energy used to produce electricity. The Miravalles Geothermal Project, owned and operated by the Costarican Institute of Electricity (ICE) is the only geothermal project of the country generating nearly the 16% of the electricity needs of the country.
(article and informations kindly provided by Katiana Murillo and ACOPROT)