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 5,426 m (17,802 ft) it is the second highest peak in Mexico, after Citlaltépetl (Pico de Orizaba) at 5,636 m (18,491 ft).

It is linked to the twin volcano of Iztaccihuatl to the north by the high saddle known as the "Paso de Cortés". Izta-Popo Zoquiapan National Park, wherein the two volcanoes are located, is named after them.

Popocatépetl is 70 km (43 mi) southeast of Mexico City, from where it can be seen regularly, depending on atmospheric conditions. Until recently, the volcano was one of three tall peaks in Mexico to contain glaciers, the others being Iztaccihuatl and Pico de Orizaba. In the 1990s, the glaciers such as Glaciar Norte (North Glacier) greatly decreased in size, partly due to warmer temperatures but largely due to increased volcanic activity. By early 2001, Popocatépetl's glaciers were gone; ice remained on the volcano, but no longer displayed the characteristic features of glaciers such as crevasses.

Lava erupting from Popocatépetl has historically been predominantly andesitic, but it has also erupted large volumes of dacite. Magma produced in the current cycle of activity tends to be a mixture of the two with the andesites being rich in magnesium.

The name Popocatépetl comes from the Nahuatl words popōca (Nahuatl pronunciation: [poˈpoːka]) "it smokes" and tepētl [ˈtepeːt͡ɬ] "mountain", meaning Smoking Mountain. The volcano is also referred to by Mexicans as El Popo affectionately, or to shorten the full name.

Geology

The stratovolcano contains a steep-walled, 400 m × 600 m (1,300 ft × 2,000 ft) 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 south of the volcano. The modern volcano was constructed to the south of the late-Pleistocene to Holocene El Fraile cone. Three major Plinian eruptions, the most recent of which took place about 800 AD, have occurred from Popocatépetl since the mid-Holocene, accompanied by pyroclastic flows and voluminous lahars that swept basins below the volcano.

According to paleomagnetic studies, the volcano is about 730,000 years old. It is cone shaped with a diameter of 25 km (16 mi) at its base, with a peak elevation of 5,450 m (17,880 ft). The crater is elliptical with an orientation northeast-southwest. The walls of the crater vary from 600 to 840 m (1,970 to 2,760 ft) in height. Popocatépetl is currently active after being dormant for about half of last century. Its activity increased in 1991 and smoke has been seen constantly emanating from the crater since 1993.

History

The geological history of Popocatépetl began with the formation of the ancestral volcano Nexpayantla. About 200,000 years ago, Nexpayantla collapsed in an eruption, leaving a caldera, in which the next volcano, known as El Fraile, began to form. Another eruption about 50,000 years ago caused that to collapse, and Popocatépetl rose from that. Around 23,000 years ago, a lateral eruption (believed to be larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens) destroyed the volcano's ancient cone and created an avalanche that reached up to 70 kilometres (43 mi) from the summit. The debris field from that is one of four around the volcano, and it is also the youngest.

Three Plinian eruptions are known to have taken place: 3,000 years ago (3195–2830 BC), 2,150 years ago (800–215 BC), and 1,100 years ago (likely 823 AD). The latter two buried the nearby village of Tetimpa, preserving evidence of preclassical culture.

Popocatépetl is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico and the most famous, having had more than 15 major eruptions since the arrival of the Spanish in 1519.

Legend

Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl refers to the volcanoes Popocatépetl ("the Smoking Mountain") and Iztaccíhuatl ("white woman" in Nahuatl, sometimes called the Mujer Dormida "sleeping woman" in Spanish) in Iztaccíhuatl–Popocatépetl National Park, which overlook the Valley of Mexico and the various myths explaining their existence. The most common variety relates the Nahua romance of the princess Iztaccíhuatl and the warrior Popocatépetl. This tale is recorded in several different versions.

In Aztec mythology, Iztaccíhuatl was a princess who fell in love with one of her father's warriors, Popocatépetl. The emperor sent Popocatépetl to war in Oaxaca, promising him Iztaccíhuatl as his wife when he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he would not). Iztaccíhuatl was falsely told that Popocatépetl had died in battle, and believing the news, she died of grief. When Popocatépetl returned to find his love dead, he took her body to a spot outside Tenochtitlan and kneeled by her grave. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain is called "Sleeping Woman" (Though the Nahuatl name literally means "White Woman" from iztāc "white" and cihuātl "woman") because it resembles a woman lying on her back, and is often covered with snow — the peak is sometimes nicknamed La Mujer Dormida, "The Sleeping Woman". Popocatépetl became an active volcano, raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved.

A different tale was told by the Nahuatl-speakers of Tetelcingo, Morelos, according to whom Iztaccíhuatl was the wife of Popo, but Xinantécatl wanted her, and he and Popocatépetl hurled rocks at each other in anger. This was the genesis of the rocky mountain ranges of the continental divide and the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt that lie between the two mountains. Finally Popocatépetl, in a burst of rage, flung an enormous chunk of ice, decapitating the Nevado de Toluca. This is why the Nevado is flat-topped, with wide shoulders but no head. Conceivably this legend preserves the memory of catastrophic eruptions.

The most popular legend about Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl comes from the ancient Nahuas

Many years before conquistador Hernán Cortés came to Mexico, the Aztecs lived in Tenochtitlan, today's Mexico City. The chief of the Aztecs was a famous Emperor, who was loved by all the natives. The Emperor and his wife, the Empress, were very worried because they had no children. One day the Empress said to the Emperor that she was going to give birth to a child. A baby girl was born and she was as beautiful as her mother. They called her Iztaccíhuatl, which in Náhuatl means "white lady". All the natives loved Izta, and her parents prepared her to be the Empress of the Aztecs. When she grew up, she fell in love with a captain of a tribe, his name was Popoca, however the Emperor would not allow them to marry. One day, a war broke out with the fate of the Empire at stake, and the Aztec warriors had to go South to fight the enemy. The Emperor told Popoca that he had to bring the head of the enemy chief back from the war, so he could marry his daughter. After several months of combat, a warrior who hated Popoca sent a false message to the Emperor. The message said that his army had won the war, but that Popoca had died in battle. The Emperor was very sad when he heard the news, and when Izta heard she could not stop crying. She refused to go out and did not eat any more. A few days later, she became ill and she died of sadness. When the Emperor was preparing Izta's funeral, Popoca and his warriors arrived victorious from war. The Emperor was taken aback when he saw Popoca but prepared to offer the throne, to which Popoca turned down as he only wanted to marry Izta. The Emperor announced that Izta had died of a broken heart. Popoca killed the warriors who had sent the false message to the Emperor. He then took Izta's body and left the town. He walked a long way until he arrived at some mountains where he ordered his warriors to build a funeral table with flowers and he put Izta lying on top. Then he knelt down to watch over Izta and died of sadness too. The Gods were touched by Popoca's sacrifice and turned the tables and the bodies into great volcanoes. The biggest volcano is Popocatépetl, which in Náhuatl means "smoking mountain". He sometimes throws out smoke, showing that he is still watching over Iztaccíhuatl, who sleeps by his side

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  • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    1 year ago

    It’s really unfortunate that the Star Wars sequel trilogy ended up the way it did, because the first scene of The Force Awakens is really really good.

      • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        I’m not sure if you’re saying last Jedi was good or bad lol

        I thought it was mid, it had some neat ideas but didn’t stick the landing. Like the weird slow speed space chance that they could leave and return to at any time was weird. But it left a great setup for a third movie that RoS completely spent the first 20 minutes actively undoing.

        I think my main problems with Last Jedi come down to personal problems with Rian Johnson’s directing, I just don’t vibe with his movies

        • Cromalin [she/her]
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          it was good. far from great, but it was the only one of the sequels that had any ideas beyond 'what if we did another star wars', and that throne room fight is the best action scene in the trilogy

          also i loved knives out and also (to a much lesser extent) glass onion, so there's that

          • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            it was the only one of the sequels that had any ideas beyond ‘what if we did another star wars’, and that throne room fight is the best action scene in the trilogy

            100% agree

            I on the other hand thought Knives Out and Glass Onion were super bland. Exact same problem as Last Jedi, none of my concrete problems are really what I dislike about them, there’s just something about the vibe that doesn’t work for me.

            They feel like they’d be :maybe-later-kiddo:’s favorite movies

            Last Jedi ranks right in the middle of Star Wars movies for me I think, 5, 6, Rogue One, 4, 3, 7, 8, Solo, 2, 1, [long blank space to denote how big this gap is], 9

            • Cromalin [she/her]
              ·
              edit-2
              1 year ago

              they are :maybe-later-kiddo:'s favorites, but also knives out has a :maybe-later-kiddo: character who ends up working together with the maga republican to try and screw over the latina immigrant the second she poses an economic threat

              also i just really like that style of murder mystery, even if that's mostly aesthetic

              and that ranking is incredibly fair, even if i think 7 would be below solo and 8 for me, and 1 might be above 2? hard to say, but rise of skywalker was probably the worst movie i've ever seen in theaters

              • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
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                edit-2
                1 year ago

                This is the video I’m watching that made me post about this if you’re curious, it really is one of the worst movies ever. I honestly would’ve respected Disney a lot if after it was universally loathed they just declared it non-canon and tried again.

                Honestly the only movie I can think of that was worse that’s on the same scale was Secrets of Dumbledore, holy shit that movie was inconceivably awful

                • Cromalin [she/her]
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  i never watched secrets of dumbledore, but the shrieking shack episode for it made it sound just as bad as rise of skywalker

                  • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
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                    edit-2
                    1 year ago

                    My partner and I got high and watched it and made fun of it, it was a great time, highly recommend

                    I don’t find hating rise of skywalker as fun though, because I don’t have contempt for Star Wars like I do for Harry Potter. I want Star Wars to be good

                    Also now I’m just rambling but I really think Rise of Skywalker would’ve been better if when Rey fell to the dark side for half a second she just actually fell, ran off to become Palpatine’s new apprentice, and Ben stopped her. It would’ve been better to have Ben survive and Rey die. Still stupid but better. From the very beginning Rey is super drawn to the dark side, Luke says it in 8. It would’ve been way better for when the choice comes, she makes the wrong choice.

                    • Cromalin [she/her]
                      ·
                      1 year ago

                      i also want star wars to be good! i'm so scared for andor season 2

                      • ClimateChangeAnxiety [he/him, they/them]
                        ·
                        1 year ago

                        Same. Season 1 is quite possibly my favorite thing in all of Star Wars. It’s so so good. I heard production of season 2 was continuing despite the strike but I also heard they were done/mostly done with filming? It was also filmed in the UK so idk if that changes things.

                        • Cromalin [she/her]
                          ·
                          1 year ago

                          that and tony gilroy said he wasn't doing anything except i think some basic production stuff? so like they might be working on sets or something

    • thelastaxolotl [he/him]
      hexagon
      M
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      yea, personally i think that ROTS was the really bad movie that just ruined the triology, force awakens was fine tho it was lame they just killed the new republic and iliked the last jedi and it didnt do anything that was too drastic besides just killing snoke which to me was fine since it made Kylo the new bad guy.

      sometimes i woder if it would have been better if disney just used the original lucasarts pinch for the sequels and have the grandkids of the skywalker vs Maul and his galactic spanning criminal cartel