Arenal Volcano
Costa Rica is a rugged, Rain Forested Central American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and Pacific, complete with a Man-Made Lake. Though its capital, San Jose, is home to cultural institutions like the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. We know Costa Rica for its beaches, volcanoes, Lake Arenal and biodiversity. Roughly a quarter of Costa Rica’s area comprises a protected jungle, teeming with wildlife, including spider monkeys and quetzal birds.
I spent five weeks in Costa Rica and wanted to stay a lot longer because it was the first country that I knew I could live in permanently.
All my time I spent in the north of Costa Rica Rica, around Culebra Bay, and I spent time around Costa Rica’s largest lake, Lake Arenal. During my time in Costa Rica, I never made it to the highlands and Southern Region of Costa Rica. I will go back to this fantastic country whenever I have more time.
Lake Arenal in Costa Rica sprawls at the foot of the Arenal Volcano. Rising above the small town of La Fortuna, the Arenal volcano is an impressive sight. Shaped as a perfectly symmetrical cone, it is the subject of many postcards and photographs. This is Costa Rica’s most active volcano, however, for the time being it is quiet. The night time lava shows are no longer a spectacle, but it is still very popular and well worth visiting.
The top is often shrouded in swirls of mist, but this still makes for excellent photographs. Not forgetting the myriad of trails running through the forest worthy of exploring Costa Rica’s rugged northern highlands region.
Earthenware Dam on Lake Arenal
The construction of a massive earthen dam on the valley’s eastern end created lake Arenal. It took from 1972 through to 1976 for the lake to fill with water. By 1979 construction of the hydroelectric dam was complete. At this time, Lake Arenal had grown and was now three times its original size.
A magic view when you look towards the volcano. It was in this instant, I decided I could defiantly live here.
The lake was originally much smaller than it is today. The size was approximately 20-30% of its actual size. It was naturally created approximately 2-3 million years ago in the valley next to the mountain range. The small lake was irrigated by a couple of rivers. In the 70’s the Government of Costa Rica was looking for a place to possibly build a Dam and produce electricity using water as the country had to buy petroleum to produce electricity and the cost was high for a small country.
The lake was built in the ’70s basically to function as a Dam and produce hydroelectricity as an option of not depending on fossil fuels, an initiative from the Costa Rica government during those dates. The lake got to produce nearly 60% of the Country’s electricity back in those days, which was a very important situation that helped during the 80s oil crisis around the globe. With the passing of time, this lake became very important in other ways, not only to produce electricity. We can mention that the wetland formed by the lake and the ecosystem joint with the forest around has become a very important habitat for several species of birds and animals that nowadays holds an immense quantity of wildlife.
Arenal Lake Project
In the ’70s the government started to build a hydroelectric project in which the lake will be the main part of it. So the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity started the project in 1974. To start the project some towns close to the lake must be relocated, this was the case of Tronadora and Arenal. The government offered the inhabitants to buy their lands or be relocated to higher ground and those who have no properties in town could have one and pay it later.
Finally, in 1978 the hydroelectric project Lake Arenal was finished, the last element was the completion of the Sangregado dam, with 1,012 meters long, with a maximum thickness at the base of 553 meters and 8 meters of the crest, the height is 65 meters and today the route number 142 crosses this dam, this way connects La Fortuna Town with Nuevo Arenal Town, and also we could say that connects Alajuela Province with Guanacaste Province. With the passage of time, locals call it Arenal Dam. Around 4.6 million cubic meters of construction material were used to build it and the approximate cost of the project was about 1.500.000 colones of those days. The hydroelectric project is producing today approximately 10 to 12% of the total electricity of the country, and around 35 to 40% of the hydroelectric energy.
Important data of Lake Arenal
- • Lake Arenal has an area of 87.7 square kilometers
- • It stores 2,416 million cubic meters of water and reaches 546 meters above sea level
- • Maximum length 30 Kilometers
- • Maximum width 4 kilometers
- • Waves are generated up to a meter high
- • Rivers that supply it: Arenal, Aguas Gatas, Caño Negro, Chiquito and eight small rivers
- • Electricity generation 157,398 KW
- • It is the largest artificial lake in Central America
- • The waters of the Arenal are used for recreation, fishing, and as a tourist destination
- • The water that comes out is reused in the Miguel Dengo hydroelectric plant and as an irrigation system.
Owing to all the geothermal activity going on, it’s no surprise that there are several hot springs for visitors to enjoy. Moreover, each one is unique in its own right. Some springs have several pools which will vary in temperature. Surprisingly, some have water slides, of cause, some have bars, and restaurants. They are the perfect way to unwind and relax after a hard day hiking through the trails of the national park. Most importantly, it gives your muscles a well-earned rest ready for the next part of your trip. Besides that, some hotels and lodges have private springs explicitly only open to guests, great for an after-dinner dip.
To the west of the volcano is Lake Arenal, and it doesn’t get more scenic than this. This man-made lake now supplies water to Guanacaste and also hydroelectricity for the area. It can be breezy here, then again, when the waters are still. It rewards you with the perfect reflection of the volcano in all its splendour. The drive along the lake is beautiful and scenic, you can also enjoy boat trips on the lake. You can also try kayaking, fishing for feisty rainbow bass and even kite-surfing.
Costa Rica is not the cheapest country in Central America to live. However, if I cannot find another country that I am happy to live in, I will be back permanently.
Lake Arenal, with its perfectly symmetrical cone, and it’s manmade lake is the largest lake in Costa Rica.
During the whole month of May 2019, Costa Rica generated 984.19 gigawatt-hours of electricity, the highest in the country’s history. However, what makes this feat even more impressive is the fact that 99.99% of this energy comes from renewable sources. Hydropower, wind, biomass, solar, and geothermal.
Most important, with such a high generation rate, the state power company Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE). Could suspend energy imports from the first week of May and shift to exports. Furthermore, the power company continues to sell electricity to the Regional Electricity Market (REM). Which generates revenues and most important, is likely to reduce local electricity rates.
The Yellow House
The government building where foreign representatives are received.
You can see Costa Rica does not spend vast amounts of money entertaining foreign dignitaries. That’s what I call sensible.