Musings on the volcano next door.
So, I've had a standing new year's resolution for the past 20 years or so: NOT to ride in or attempt to pilot a hot air balloon.
As a pilot, I disagree vehemently with the idea of allowing the wind to determine where I'm going and, oh by the way, if I'm going to hit power lines and burst into flames.
Not gonna do it.
But I digress...
An unspoken, but equally fervent resolution has been to NOT live on an active volcano. I mean, why would you?
Well, turns out I'm skirting the line on that one.
Our little beach town in Costa Rica is exactly 30 miles from the Rincon de la Vieja volcano, which erupted quite spectacularly less than a year ago. It's a beautiful place. The volcano is surrounded by a 34,000-acre national park and features great hiking trails, waterfalls, and hot springs.
There's no exact science to determining how close is too close to live near a volcano. Scientists say the Yellowstone super volcano, for example, could dump 10 feet of molten ash over much of Texas.
In general though, most experts say if you're at least 10 miles from most volcanoes you're mostly safe.
Mostly.
So I'm going with that. At 30 miles, we have triple the safety margin needed from the 6,286 feet of gurgling, molten, pressurized lava waiting to spew forth from our friendly neighbor, Rincon de la Viejas.
Join me next time for "Tsunamis: No Day at The Beach."
Comments