You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. This entry was posted on Sonntag, Juli 3rd, 2011 at 18:27 and is filed under Mexico. But there are enough pick-ups on the road to make us believe that the path is passable, but sedans or RVs should check before taking this trip. When continuing east we are astonished that the paved road is replaced by a gravel road that has got severe damages since rainy season started. Just for a few seconds it clears up and we can see the continuously smoke emitting peak of Popocatépetl. The peaks of Mexicos second and third tallest volcano are nearly always wrapped in clouds, and smog from Mexico covers the bases. On January 2, 2021, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8. The glacier-clad stratovolcano has been erupting since January 2005, with daily low-intensity emissions of gas, steam, and ash. From Mexico City, around 2250 m high, we climb via Amecameca to 3700 m to the National Park Office. Popocatpetl volcanothe name is Aztec for smoking mountainis one of Mexico’s most active volcanoes.

Its called Paso de Cortés since the Spanish conqueror penetrated from Puebla and Cholula over this pass to Tenochtitlán, todays Mexico City. A road crosses the saddle between the two cones. Izta has a glacier hilltop like Popo that can be climbed with technical equipment and experience. Just beside the 5.286 m high sister volcano Iztaccíhuatl is situated thats regarded as sleeping. In the past centuries befor European invasions, large eruptions produced giant mud flows that have buried Atzteque settlements, even entire pyramids. After almost 50 years of dormancy, 'Popo' came back to life in 1994 and has since then been producing powerful explosions at irregular intervals.

Again and again villages had to be evacuated, and since 1994 there is a security zone of 12 km around the crater that makes it impossible in the foreseeable future to climb the crater or even get closer to it. Popocatepetl is one of Mexico's most active volcanoes. Some less brutal explosions followed in the next years, but in January 2008 5.452 m high Popocatépetl was back with new strength and spew an eight kilometres high ash cloud into the air. Only a month later a similar incident occurred. A part of the crater lid exploded and the volcano blasted stones, ash and smoke into the air.

In December 2000 Popocatépetl had its most violent eruption since 500 years.

Skychart popocatepetl mexico