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POPOCATEPETL (Aztec popoca " to smoke," tepetl " See also: volcano in Mexico in See also: lat
.
18° 59' 47" N., long
.
98° 33' I" W., which with the neighbouring Ixtaccihuatl (Aztec " See also: white woman ") forms the
See also: south-eastern limit of the See also: great See also: basin known as the " Valley of Mexico." As it lies in the See also: state of Puebla and is the dominating feature in the views from the city of that name, it is sometimes called the Puebla volcano
.
It is the second highest See also: summit in Mexico, its shapely, snow-covered See also: cone rising to a height of 17,876 ft., or 438 ft. See also: short of that of See also: Orizaba
.
This See also: elevation was reported by the Mexican See also: geological survey in 1895, and as the Mexican See also: Geographical Society calculated the elevation at 17,888 ft., it may be accepted as nearly correct
.
The bulk of the See also: mountain consists of See also: andesite, but porphyry, See also: obsidian, See also: trachyte, See also: basalt, and other similar rocks are also represented
.
It has a stratified cone showing a long See also: period of activity
.
At the See also: foot of the eastern slope stretches a vast See also: lava field—the " malpays " (malepais) of Atlachayacatl—which, according to Humboldt, lies 6o to 8o ft. above the plain and extends 18,000 ft. See also: east to west with a breadth of 6000 ft
.
Its formation must be of great antiquity
.
The ascent of Popocatepetl is made on the See also: north-eastern slope, where rough roads are kept open by See also: sulphur See also: carriers and See also: timber cutters
.
Describing his ascent in 1904, Hans Gadow states that the forested region begins in the foot-hills a little above 8000 ft., and continues up the slope to an elevation of over 13,000 ft
.
On the See also: lower slopes the See also: forest is composed in great See also: part of the long-leaved Pinus liophylla, accompanied by deciduous oaks and a variety of other trees and shrubs
.
From about 9500 ft. to 11,500 ft. the Mexican " oyamel," or See also: fir (Abies religiosa) becomes the See also: principal See also: species, interspersed with See also: evergreen See also: oak, arbutus and elder
.
Above this See also: belt the firs gradually disappear and are succeeded by the short-leaved Pinus montezumae, or Mexican " ocote "—one of the largest species of See also: pine in the republic
.
These continue to the upper See also: tree-See also: line, accompanied by red and See also: purple See also: Pentstemon and See also: light blue lupins in the open spaces, some ferns, and occasional masses of alpine See also: flowers
.
Above the tree line the vegetation continues only a comparatively short distance, consisting chiefly of tussocks of coarse grass, and occasional flowering See also: plants, the highest noted being a little Draba
.
At about 14,500 ft. horses are See also: left behind, though they could be forced farther up through the loose lava and ashes
.
On the snow-covered cone the heat of the See also: sun is intense, though the thermometer recorded a temperature of 34° in See also: September
.
The reflection of light from the snow is See also: blinding
.
The rim of the See also: crater is reached at an elevation of about 17,500 ft
.
Another description places the snow-line at 14,268 ft., and the upper tree-line
a thousand feet lower
.
A detailed description of the volcano was published by the Mexican geological survey in 1895 according to which the crater is elliptical in See also: form, 2008 by 1312 ft., and has a See also: depth of 16J7 ft. below the summit of the highest pinnacle and 673 ft. below the lowest part of the rim, which is very irregular in height
.
The steep, ragged walls of the crater show a great variety of See also: colours, intensified by the light from the deep blue sky above
.
Huge patches of sulphur, some still smouldering, are everywhere visible, intermingled with the white streaks of snow and ice that fill the crevices and cover the ledges of the black rocks
.
The See also: water from the melted snow forms a small lake at the bottom of the crater, from which it filters through fissures to the heated rocks below and thence escapes as steam or through other fissures to the See also: mineral springs at the mountain's See also: base
.
The See also: Indian sulphur miners go down by means of ladders, or are lowered by rope and windlass, and the mineral is sent down the mountain See also: side in a chute 2000 to 3000 ft
.
Some observers report that steam is to be seen rising from fissures in the bottom of the crater, and all are See also: united in speaking of the fumes of burning sulphur that rise from its depths
.
That volcanic influences are still See also: present may be inferred from the circumstance that the snow cap on Popocatepetl disappeared just before the remarkable series of earthquakes that shook the whole of central Mexico on the 3oth and 31st of See also: July 1909
.
It is believed that Diego de Ordaz was the first See also: European to reach the summit of Popocatepetl, though no proof of this remains further than that See also: Cortes sent a party of ten men in 1519 to ascend a burning mountain
.
In 1522 Francisco Montano made the ascent and had himself let down into the crater a depth of 400 or 500 ft
.
No second ascent is recorded until See also: April and See also: November 1827 (see Brantz Mayer, Mexico, vol. ii.)
.
Other ascents were made in 1834, 1848 and subsequent years, members of the Mexican geological survey spending two days on the summit in 1895
.
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