Arenal Volcano Photos - February 2, 2006
Photos shot from the west face of Arenal Volcano on February 2, 2006 @ 9h01 pm, 9h03 pm and a strombolian eruption @ 9h37 pm
Our most recent Arenal eruption photos were taken from a point southwest of Arenal Volcano from the Mirador Lodge in Monteverde (one of the only two hotels with such a view in Monteverde, the other one being the nearby Vista Verde Lodge); 16 km (11 miles) South-west from the volcano as the crow flies, elevation 1,500 meters compare to the Arenal Volcano's summit who is @ 1,700 meters (1 meter = roughly 3 feet), but you can have a closer point of view at a lower altitude and near the entrance of the Arenal National Park. See also our Arenal Volcano map for hotels much closer to the volcano and updates on the direction of the lava flow.
The West face of the volcano is the most active side at the present (as we updated this page on February 27, 2006) with lava flowing every 15 minutes or so since March 2005, on 2 different paths: West toward the Arenal National Park (first photo below) and Southwest (second photo below taken 40 minutes later) towards the village of El Castillo (the lights bottom center on the first photo). The lava is changing sides or paths depending on conduits (vents) opening and closing and the lava finding the path with the least resistance, just like a stream does (see center bottom of Arenal map for eruption history summary).
All photos on this page were shot with a Nikon D70 digital camera equipped with a 70/300mm zoom & a tripod with a 30 seconds exposition @ 1,600 asa for most of the night shots (or 400 asa from 2 days before to 2 days after the full moon), no flash. The smaller & cheaper Nikon D50 digital camera can take the same kind of pictures (same sensitivity and exposure duration capabilities). Note: you cannot use a flash to take photos of the volcano, it's too far from your camera. If you do, you will have nice all black pictures. You cannot hold it stable for a long exposition, your photos will be blurry. You need a tripod or a table or something and need to use the self-timer on your camera, read your manual!
Arenal photos above: December 15, '05 @ 2h24 am and 2h59 am (full moon). The volcano was very active tonight with lava flowing down every 2 minutes, large and spectacular flows on several different paths, all on the west side. The full moon helps a lot for taking night shots. Because we are near the equator the sunrise is roughly at 5h30 am and sunset is at 5h30 pm all year long. See our Moon phase and Costa Rica Sunrise Sunset Time Table or this educational page about why season changes (opens in a new window).
Arenal photos above: November 17, '05 @ 7h06 pm, 7h44 pm & 10h01 pm (full moon). The last one is a strombolian eruption taken November 18, '05 @ 7h54 am.
Arenal photos above: October 28, '05 @ 10h38 pm, 11h pm, 11h22 pm, 11h39 pm & the last 2 pictures on Oct. 29 @ 1h11 am & 4h11 pm.
Arenal pictures above: strombolian eruption on October 27, '05 @ 6h51 am. By comparing the height of the volcano to the size of the hot ash & gas cloud, I estimate the diameter at about 275 meters (275 m x 3.3 ft/m = 907 feet). Night shot with lava glowing through the clouds on Oct. 21 @ 3h05 am.
Photos above taken from the balcony of a cabin of Mirador Lodge on October 14, '05 @ 10h55 pm, and October 15 @ 9h08 am.
Pictures above: 13 October '05 all taken the same day @ 4h58 am (before sunrise @ 5h30 am), 11h14 am (the bird in the clouds is a vulture with a wingspan of about 1 meter) & 7h54 pm.
Photos above taken on September 21, 2005 @ 0h39 am, 1h15 am (larger than normal eruption), 4h42 am, 5h51 am, 5h53 am & 6h32 am.
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