Contact | RSS | EN | DE | EL | ES | FR | IT | RU

Popocatepetl volcano (Central Mexico) activity update

Wed, 7 Nov 2012, 11:05 | BY: T
Glow from the crater of Popocatépetl this morning
Glow from the crater of Popocatépetl this morning
During 5-6 Nov, only 18 low-intensity exhalations occurred with no or little ash content and producing plumes rising to a maximum of 1 km. During the night, glow can sometimes be seen from the crater.

Previous news

Mon, 5 Nov 2012, 11:05

Popocatépetl volcano (Central Mexico) activity update

Ash explosion on 4 Nov (CENPARED)
During 3-4 Nov, there were 64 weak to moderate explosions mostly of steam. The more powerful ones occurred at 11:00h, 14:50h, 15:48h an 23:46 h on 3 Nov and at 01:57 h, 02:40h, 05:32h and at 08:35 h local time on 4 Nov, and generated small ash plumes. Read all
Fri, 2 Nov 2012, 11:05

Popocatepetl volcano (Central Mexico) activity update

SO2 plume from Popocatépetl on November 1, 2012 (NOAA)
In the last 24 h (October 30 to November 1) the monitoring system of Popocatepetl recorded 41 exhalations of low to moderate intensity, accompanied by emissions of steam, gas and probably minor amounts of ash. ... Read all
Show more

Background:

Volcán Popocatépetl, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain, towers to 5426 m 70 km SE of Mexico City to form North America's 2nd-highest volcano.  The glacier-clad stratovolcano contains a steep-walled, 250-450 m deep 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.  Frequent historical eruptions, first recorded in Aztec codices, have occurred since precolumbian time.


---


Source: GVP, Smithsonian Institution - Popocatepetl information


Satellite images of Popocatepetl volcano (c)Google Earth View
Satellite images of Popocatepetl volcano (c)Google Earth View
Stratovolcano 5426 m / 17,802 ft
Central Mexico, 19.02°N / -98.62°W
Current status: erupting (4 out of 5) Popocatépetl volcano eruptions:
1345-47, 1354, 1363(?), 1488, 1504, 1509(?), 1512, 1518, 1519-23(?), 1528, 1530, 1539-40, 1542, 1548, 1571, 1580, 1590, 1592-94, 1642, 1663-65, 1666-67, 1697, 1720, 1802-04, 1827(?), 1834(?), 1852(?), 1919-22, 1923-24, 1925-27(?), 1933, 1942-43, 1947, 1994-95, 1996-2003, 2004-ongoing
Typical eruption style
Dominantly explosive, construction of lava domes. Plinian eruptions at intervals of several centuries or few thousands of years, vulcanian and strombolian activity in intermittent phases.
Popocatépetl Volcano Tours
tour to see the ongoing eruption of Mexico's most active volcano
6 days / 5 nights - Easy
Price 1650 €
no scheduled dates at present