2004 CONTEST WINNER
Photographer: Kimpha Chau
Where: Poas Volcano, Costa Rica
When: July 4, 2004
Brief description: This crater off the side of Poas
Volcano is at least 11 million years old. You can find in the picture
the many different layers of earth along the outside of the crater. The
crater itself is about 0.9 miles wide and about 900 ft. deep. The crater
is filled with boiling, steaming sulfur and is constantly causing minor
acidic rainfall. On January 25, 1910 to volcano ejected 640,000 tons
of ash that you can still find along the outer edge of the crater as
well. There is no trace of vegetation due to the acidic level. Although
this picture captures an amazing view of the crater, it is twice as hard
to imagine how awful the smell of the site was…just like rotten
eggs...in your clothes and hair!
What this image means to me: This was how we spent our
July 4th. It was so surreal to be standing at the sight of an active
volcano looking down at a sulfur filled crater. I’ve never seen
anything like it before except in a textbook sitting behind a desk! To
be there was such an experience because you could see it live, and even
smell the site. You will never find anything like this in the US. The
only time I was ever saw such vibrant green color was on a shirt or in
a marker, so when I was looking over this crater I couldn’t believe
what I was seeing. When I look at this picture, it reminds me of a photo
that can be used in a textbook, because it has a great shot of the entire
crater (normally there is a huge cloud covering the view; we were lucky),
and because it displays many different features of the Poas Volcano.
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