Log InRegister
Search For:
Mineral Name:
Locality Name:
Keyword(s):
 
Home PageAbout MindatThe Mindat ManualHistory of MindatCopyright StatusWho We AreOur ScienceMindat Newsletter [Free Download]Contact Us
Donate to MindatSponsor a PageCorporate SponsorshipSponsored Pages
Learning CenterWhat Is a Mineral?The Most Common Minerals on EarthInformation for EducatorsMindat ArticlesMindat Newsletter [Free Download]The ElementsThe Mineral Quiz
Search FormMinerals by PropertiesMinerals by ChemistryMineral Visual ExplorerAdvanced Locality SearchRandom MineralRandom LocalitySearch by minIDMinerals by CountryAlphabetical Mineral IndexAlphabetical Locality SearchMineral Association SearchList of CountriesLocalities Near MePhoto SearchSearch ArticlesSearch GlossaryThe Rock H. Currier Digital LibraryMore Search Options
The Mindat ManualAdd a New PhotoRate PhotosLocality Edit ReportCoordinate Completion ReportAdd Glossary Item
MineralsPetrologyFossilsMeteoritesGeologic Time
Mining CompaniesStatisticsMineral MuseumsClubs & OrganizationsMineral Shows & EventsDevice SettingsTime Machine
Read DiscussionsIdentification Request
Photo SearchPhoto GalleriesSearch by ColourPhoto Colour ExplorerNew Photos TodayNew Photos YesterdayMembers' Photo GalleriesPast Photo of the Day GalleryPhotography

Aguacate Mountains, Alajuela Province, Costa Ricai
Regional Level Types
Aguacate MountainsMountain Range
Alajuela ProvinceProvince
Costa RicaCountry

This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.
PhotosSearch
Mindat Locality ID:
29446
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:29446:2
GUID (UUID V4):
0
Other Languages:
Spanish:
Montes del Aguacate, Provincia Alajuela, Costa Rica


The Aguacate Mountains are a series of hills and mountain ranges located in Costa Rica, with the same volcanic origin, that extend from Cañas in Guanacaste to San Pablo de Turrubares in the province of San José. For a long time, they were known for their gold wealth, whose exploitation had an important economic cycle during the late nineteenth century and much of the twentieth century.

They begin in the Pan de Azúcar hill (260 m a.s.l.) and Palmira hill (228 m a.s.l.), which are volcanic relics located 3 km and 11 km respectively from the city of Cañas. Cerro San José (1052 m a.s.l.) is an old volcanic cone located 11 km south of Tilarán. The Tilarán hill (634 meters above sea level) rises immediately to the southeast of this city, made up of the remains of an ancient volcanic system. The hills Pelado (660 m a.s.l.) and Delicias (680 m a.s.l.) are 12 km from Cañas, they can be easily seen when approaching this city by the North Inter-American Highway from San José. They have a conical, conspicuous and isolated shape, with steep walls and cliffs devoid of vegetation that resemble a volcano. Thermal springs can be found in the town of Aguacaliente, which contain geothermal potential. The Frío (1222 m a.s.l.) and San Pedro (1299 m a.s.l.) hills are located 10 and 15 km southeast of Tilarán and are ancient volcanic cones upholstered by Arenal ash blankets. 5.5 km from Abangares is the Marsella hill, a volcanic relic of the Aguacate group, as well as the Pelados (460 m a.s.l.) and Herrera (539 m a.s.l.) hills, 16 km from Barranca (Puntarenas). Near this town, 3.5 km to the northeast, is Cerro San Miguel (414 mm a.s.l.), an irregular domed volcanic dome with lateral protrusions and steep slopes.

The part of the mountain range popularly known as Monte del Aguacate is a set of hills located between the cantons of Atenas and Orotina, several kilometres before San Mateo. Traveling along the highway from Atenas to Orotina, on the right are the hills Pelón de San Mateo (882 mm a.s.l.), Mondongo (1020 m a.s.l.) and Tinajita (925 mm a.s.l.), ancient volcanic relics. To the east of Atenas is the Macho Chingo hill (780 m a.s.l.), and between this hill and the Matías stream, there is an isolated conical hill known as Cerro Pelón. In the place, there are sites such as Alto del Monte and Estanquillos, which enjoy a panoramic view of the central valley and the central Pacific. It is in this valley that the Cajon River and its Los Angeles waterfall are born.

The city of Palmares is located in an old volcanic caldera with an almost circular shape, surrounded by the Hornos (1278 m a.s.l.), San Isidro (1259 m a.s.l.) and Espíritu Santo (1363 m a.s.l.). The latter is a volcano composed of fractured and weathered lavas. Cerro Espíritu Santo is one of the best viewpoints in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. The Tilarán mountain range ends with the Tablazo hills (1120 m a.s.l.), 6 km from Santiago de Puriscal, and La Roca (2258 m a.s.l.) and Trinidad (2056 m a.s.l.), its highest peaks, located northeast of San Pablo de Turrubares. These hills are made up of volcanic rocks that follow an extinct volcanic focus.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.


Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

7 valid minerals.

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘGold1.AA.05Au
Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts
ⓘSphalerite2.CB.05aZnS
ⓘChalcopyrite2.CB.10aCuFeS2
ⓘStibnite2.DB.05Sb2S3
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘQuartz4.DA.05SiO2
ⓘPyrolusite4.DB.05Mn4+O2
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘRhodonite9.DK.05CaMn3Mn[Si5O15]

List of minerals for each chemical element

OOxygen
Oⓘ PyrolusiteMn4+O2
Oⓘ QuartzSiO2
Oⓘ RhodoniteCaMn3Mn[Si5O15]
SiSilicon
Siⓘ QuartzSiO2
Siⓘ RhodoniteCaMn3Mn[Si5O15]
SSulfur
Sⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
Sⓘ SphaleriteZnS
Sⓘ StibniteSb2S3
CaCalcium
Caⓘ RhodoniteCaMn3Mn[Si5O15]
MnManganese
Mnⓘ PyrolusiteMn4+O2
Mnⓘ RhodoniteCaMn3Mn[Si5O15]
FeIron
Feⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
CuCopper
Cuⓘ ChalcopyriteCuFeS2
ZnZinc
Znⓘ SphaleriteZnS
SbAntimony
Sbⓘ StibniteSb2S3
AuGold
Auⓘ GoldAu

Other Databases

Wikipedia:https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montes_del_Aguacate
Wikidata ID:Q28501212

Localities in this Region

Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect

Costa Rica
North America
North America Plate
Panama PlateTectonic Plate

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
 
and/or  
Mindat.org® is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Mindat® and mindat.org® are registered trademarks of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2026, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau.
Content on this site may not be used to train, fine-tune, or otherwise develop artificial intelligence or machine learning models without prior written permission - see our Terms & Conditions.
To cite: Ralph, J., Von Bargen, D., Martynov, P., Zhang, J., Que, X., Prabhu, A., Morrison, S. M., Li, W., Chen, W., & Ma, X. (2025). Mindat.org: The open access mineralogy database to accelerate data-intensive geoscience research. American Mineralogist, 110(6), 833–844. doi:10.2138/am-2024-9486.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: October 19, 2026 20:10:35 Page updated: August 5, 2025 13:48:48
Go to top of page