All Quiet on the Western Front – Arenal Volcano National Park, La Fortuna, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica

At 7:30 on the morning of Monday, July 29, 1968, the Arenal Volcano suddenly and violently erupted. The eruptions continued unabated for several days, burying over 15 square kilometers under rocks, lava and ash. By the time that it was finally over, the eruptions buried 3 small villages – Tabacón, Pueblo Nuevo and San Luís – killing 87 people. More than 232 square kilometers of land were affected: Crops were spoiled, property was ruined, and large numbers of livestock were killed.

At the height of its ferocious activity, the volcano flung giant rocks – some weighing several tons – more than a kilometer away at a rate of 600 meters per second. These explosions would go on to form three new active craters. As the three towns were destroyed on the western side of the volcano, a town by the name of El Borio on the east side was untouched and unharmed . After the volcano ceased to erupt, El Borio was renamed La Fortuna, in celebration of its good luck in having escaped the fury of the volcano.