The Area
Boquete is located on the highlands of Panama, namely in the province of Chiriqui. The town is within sight of Panama's best known volcano.
The Baru Volcano can be seen on clear mornings -otherwise covered in clouds-. If you are situated at the location of this virtual cache, you should see the Baru Volcano bearing 278 degrees at a distance of about 10 kilometers. The volcano is 3,474 meters high and at its summit the lowest recorded temperatures are around zero Celsius, the only place in Panama with such temperatures in natural form.
This volcano is dormant but potentially active, in fact in 2006 an earthquake swarm ocurred underneath the mountain. Its last major eruption was around 500 A.D. and there is evidence of another catastrophic eruption around 1450 A.D. Panama was "discovered" in 1501.
The Rock Formation
When a thick lava flow cools, it contracts vertically but cracks perpendicular to its directional flow with remarkable geometric regularity - in most cases forming a regular grid of remarkable hexagonal extrusions that almost appear to be made by man.
Columnar Basalts are rock formations resulting from the quick cooling of lava flow. Fractures form in a random cellular network (similar to soap bubbles, organic cells, etc.), though the average distribution of sides is six, giving the hexagonal structures an eerie man-made appearance.
The Location
Hopefully it remains as it is forever as some of these rocks can be seen used in ornaments of fences such as one house on the road to this cache. Nowadays it is exploited as a rock climbing venue though it is PUBLIC property.