Popocatépetl
North America volcano From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Popocatépetl (also called El popo or Don Goyo) is an active volcano.[1] The volcano is the second highest mountain in Mexico after Pico de Orizaba (5,610m). It is 5,426 m (17,802 ft) high .
| Popocatépetl | |
|---|---|
 Popocatépetl, viewed from the north from Paso de Cortés. | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 5,426 m (17,802 ft)[lower-alpha 1] |
| Prominence | 3,020 m (9,910 ft)[3][4] |
| Isolation | 143 km (89 mi)  |
| Listing |
|
| Coordinates | 19°01′20″N 98°37′40″W |
| Geography | |
  Popocatépetl Location in Mexico  Popocatépetl Popocatépetl (Mexico)  Popocatépetl Popocatépetl (North America) | |
| Location | Mexico-Puebla-Morelos, Mexico |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
| Last eruption | 2004 to 2022 (ongoing)[5] |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | rock/snow climb |
History
Popocatépetl is the Aztec word for "Smoking Mountain". Popocatépetl was an Aztec warrior who loved Iztaccíhuatl. Iztaccíhuatl's father sent Popocatepetl to war in Oaxaca. He promised him his daughter as his wife if he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father thought he would not). Iztaccíhuatl's father told her that her lover had died in battle. She died of sadness. When Popocatépetl returned, and found out about the death of his lover, he killed himself by stabbing a knife into his heart. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain was called "La Mujer Dormida, (the "Sleeping Woman"), because it looks like a woman sleeping on her back. Popocatépetl became the volcano Popocatépetl, raining fire on Earth in anger at the loss of his lover.
Eruptions
Popocatepetl has had more than 20 big eruptions since the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. A major eruption happened in 1947. On December 21, 1994 the volcano threw out gas and ash which was carried as far as 25 km away by the wind. This led to people having to leave nearby towns. Scientists began to check the volcano for an eruption.The way scientists checked the volcano was by implementing 10 composite monitoring stations around the volcano, including broadband seismometers, thermal surveillance cameras, tiltmeters, electronic distance meters, lahar acoustic detectors and other instruments. In December 2000, tens of thousands of people were made to leave the area by the government based on the warnings of scientists. The volcano then made its largest display in thousands of years. The most recent eruption which was this year didn't have any injuries. Since it was so near Mexico City so many cameras were recording this eruption. Officials recorded that the eruption had a column of smoke that went as high as 2 miles into the air, with moderate ash content.
Related pages
Notes
- Sources vary widely, on the elevation of Popocatépetl, with most giving a value at or slightly above 5,400 m (17,700 ft). The 5,426 m (17,802 ft) figure given here is from the Smithsonian Institution-Global Volcanism Program.[2]
References
Other websites
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