the Poás Volcano. This volcano remains active today. Poás is one of 9 volcanoes currently monitored by the Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project. The project is collecting data on the carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emission rates from subaerial volcanoes. 2017 Activity On April 9, 2017, National Park officials placed restrictions on visitors at Poas due to an increased volume of toxic gases at the summit crater. An explosion on April 12 caused park officials to close the popular park to visitors. The measure was termed "temporary." Some nearby residents were also evacuated. On April 14, 2017, two eruptions at 07:39 and 07:57 created an over three kilometer ash and vapor column. Further explosions occurred April 16. Following a substantial blast on April 22 that sent incandescent rocks over a large area which damaged park buildings and infrastructure, Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solis toured the surrounding towns the following two days. Business owners described the negative financial impacts the volcano park closure were causing, and Solis released a video in Spanish and English urging potential tourists to visit the nearby community shops and restaurants. He also promised emergency agencies would continue to make updated reports on the eruption. As of September 1, 2018, the National Park has re-opened with limited access and revised regulations. Visitors are required to make an online reservation to enter the park and the number of visitors and time allowed at the crater is limited. Only the main crater observation area is open as of September 2018. Adjacent trails including the trail to the Lake Botos remain closed. 2019 Activity February 11, 2019: According to the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI), the eruption began at 1:50 a.m. Monday and sent a column of ash 200 meters above the crater. September 30, 2019, 05:41: Eruption of ash and solid material, with a 2 kilometer column, in contrast of previous water vapor activities on September 23, 2019. IUGS geological heritage site In respect of it being 'an iconic and type example of an arc shield-like massive stratovolcano and type example of an active crater lake complex', the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) included 'The Poás volcano' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international