THE ARENAL VOLCANO Sandy ground The night of the 28 of 1968 July was accompanied by great tremors that alarmed to the inhabitants of the Fortune,el Castle and new Sandy ground which day 29 of July to the 7:30 a.m. would culminate with the first explosion of the Volcano Sandy ground, thus giving place to the formation of 3 craters in the flank the west which they have been denominated To, B and C.

The crater To, I form to a height of 1000 m.s.n.m, was where piro took place clásticos flows that caused the destruction of 12 Kilometers square to the west of the volcano. The temperatures of gases were so high that they arrived to dehydrate and to carbonize the vegetation, between the hit areas were Tabacón and new town where 87 people died and the 31 of July died 8 people who traveled in vehicle.

In 1973 the activity emigrates towards crater C, located to 1450 m.s.n.m., that 17 and 21 of 1975 July I originate several incandescent avalanches that descended by the channel of the Tabacón river. Two people who worked near the river severely were burned. The sporadic eruptions of piroclastos were the characteristic of the Sandy ground until June of 1984, when the estrombolianas eruptions become but constant which have continued until the present. Due to the accumulation of materials in the edges of the crater the height of the same one has increased and two cones in the top can be observed.

The 28 of August of 1993 the wall the northwest of the crater collapse by the pressure of lava originating itself by approximately 20 minutes at least 4 incandescent avalanches. The 5 of May of 1998 to the 1:09 p.m., beginning the reduction of several clásticos flows piro of crater C towards the northwest. The 23 of August of year 2000 to the 10:15 a.m., the front of the lava tap that descended from crater C towards the northwest collapse forming a clástico flow piro.

Three people ascended to see lava were reached about gases to high temperature, which I cause the death to two of them. Today the visitors of all parts of the world continue getting to listen to the rumblings and to observe the spectacular lava reduction.