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Popocatépetl

Popocatepetl

Stratovolcano · Mexico · 5393m

An ash plume rises above Popocatépetl, whose Aztec name means "Smoking Mountain." This aerial view is of the NE side of the massive volcano, which towers more than 3,200 m above the Valley of Mexico to the right in this December 1994 photograph. Frequent eruptions have been recorded since the pre-Columbian era. El Ventorrillo, the small peak on the right, is a remnant of the eroded Nexpayantla volcano, a predecessor to the modern cone of Popocatépetl.
An ash plume rises above Popocatépetl, whose Aztec name means "Smoking Mountain." This aerial view is of the NE side of the massive volcano, which towers more than 3,200 m above the Valley of Mexico to the right in this December 1994 photograph. Frequent eruptions have been recorded since the pre-Columbian era. El Ventorrillo, the small peak on the right, is a remnant of the eroded Nexpayantla volcano, a predecessor to the modern cone of Popocatépetl. · Photo: Photo courtesy of CENAPRED, Mexico City, 1994. · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Mexico
Region
Middle America-Caribbean Volcanic Regions / Trans-Mexican Volcanic Arc
Elevation
5393m
Coordinates
19.023, -98.622
Last eruption
2026
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

Volcán Popocatépetl, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain, rises 70 km SE of Mexico City to form North America's 2nd-highest volcano. The glacier-clad stratovolcano contains a steep-walled, 400 x 600 m wide crater. The generally symmetrical volcano is modified by the sharp-peaked Ventorrillo on the NW, a remnant of an earlier volcano. At least three previous major cones were destroyed by gravitational failure during the Pleistocene, producing massive debris-avalanche deposits covering broad areas to the south. The modern volcano was constructed south of the late-Pleistocene to Holocene El Fraile cone. Three major Plinian eruptions, the most recent of which took place about 800 CE, have occurred since the mid-Holocene, accompanied by pyroclastic flows and voluminous lahars that swept basins below the volcano. Frequent historical eruptions, first recorded in Aztec codices, have occurred since Pre-Columbian time.

From Wikipedia

Popocatépetl is an active stratovolcano located in the states of Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico in central Mexico. It lies in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. At 5,393 m (17,694 ft) it is the second highest peak in Mexico, after Citlaltépetl at 5,636 m (18,491 ft). Popocatépetl is ranked 89th by prominence.

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Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
7150 BCE~6845 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 46540 BCE~6234 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?5319 BCE~5014 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 43793 BCE~3488 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 52572 BCE~2267 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1962 BCE~1657 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?436 BCE~131 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 5174~479 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?784~1090 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 41090~1395 · 3 eruptions · max VEI 21395~1700 · 19 eruptions · max VEI 31700~2005 · 15 eruptions · max VEI 37150 BCE5014 BCE2572 BCE436 BCE1700

Detailed timeline

  1. 2005VEI 2Observed
    2005-01-09 – 2026-03-18
  2. 2004VEI 2Observed
    2004-05-26 – 2004-05-26
  3. 1996VEI 3Observed
    1996-03-05 – 2003-11-22
  4. 1994VEI 2Observed
    1994-12-21 – 1995-10-05
  5. 1947VEI 1Observed
    1947-01 – 1947-02
  6. 1942VEI 1Observed
    1942 – 1943
  7. 1933VEI 1Observed
    1933-01-23 – Ongoing
  8. 1925VEI 2Observed
    1925 – 1927
  9. 1923VEI 1Observed
    1923-11-27 – 1924-03-07
  10. 1919VEI 1Observed
    1919-02-19 – 1922
  11. 1852VEI 1Geological estimate
    1852 – Ongoing
  12. 1834VEI 1Geological estimate
    1834 – Ongoing
  13. 1827VEI 1Geological estimate
    1827 – Ongoing
  14. 1802VEI 1Observed
    1802 – 1804
  15. 1720VEI 1Observed
    1720 – Ongoing
  16. 1697VEI 1Observed
    1697-10-20 – Ongoing
  17. 1666VEI 2Observed
    1666 – 1667
  18. 1663VEI 3Observed
    1663-10-13 – 1665-10-19
  19. 1642VEI 2Observed
    1642 – Ongoing
  20. 1592VEI 2Observed
    1592 – 1594-10
  21. 1590VEI 2Observed
    1590 – Ongoing
  22. 1580VEI 2Observed
    1580 – Ongoing
  23. 1571VEI 2Observed
    1571 – Ongoing
  24. 1548VEI 2Observed
    1548 – Ongoing
  25. 1542VEI 2Observed
    1542 – Ongoing
  26. 1539VEI 2Observed
    1539 – 1540
  27. 1530VEI 2Observed
    1530 – Ongoing
  28. 1528VEI 2Observed
    1528 – Ongoing
  29. 1519VEI 3Observed
    1519-09 – 1523
  30. 1518VEI 2Observed
    1518 – Ongoing
  31. 1512VEI 2Observed
    1512 – Ongoing
  32. 1509VEI ?Geological estimate
    1509 – Ongoing
  33. 1504VEI 2Observed
    1504 – Ongoing
  34. 1488VEI 2Observed
    1488 – Ongoing
  35. 1363VEI 2Geological estimate
    1363 – Ongoing
  36. 1354VEI 2Observed
    1354 – Ongoing
  37. 1345VEI 2Observed
    1345 – 1347
  38. 823VEI 4Geological estimate
    823-03-01 – Ongoing
  39. 250VEI ?Geological estimate
    250 – Ongoing
  40. 200 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    BCE 200 – Ongoing
  41. 1890 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 1890 – Ongoing
    Volcán El Fraile
  42. 2370 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 2370 – Ongoing
    Volcán El Fraile
  43. 3700 BCE (±300 yrs)VEI 5Geological estimate
    BCE 3700 – Ongoing
    Volcán El Fraile
  44. 5150 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    BCE 5150 – Ongoing
    Volcán El Fraile
  45. 6250 BCE (±500 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    BCE 6250 – Ongoing
    Volcán El Fraile
  46. 7150 BCEVEI 4Geological estimate
    BCE 7150 – Ongoing
    Volcán El Fraile

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.