Popocatépetl Totally Explained

Everything about Popocatepetl totally explained

Popocatépetl (commonly referred to as Popo, El Popo or Don Goyo) is an active volcano and, at 5,426 m., the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba (5,636 m). Popocatépetl comes from the Nahuatl words popōca 'it smokes' and tepētl 'mountain', thus Smoking Mountain. Popocatépetl is linked to the Iztaccíhuatl volcano to the north by the high saddle known as the Paso de Cortés, and lies in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. Popocatepetl is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico, having had more than 20 major eruptions since the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. Popo is currently active. A major eruption occurred in 1947 to begin this cycle of activity. Then, on December 21, 1994 the volcano spewed gas and ash which was carried as far as 25 km away by prevailing winds. The activity prompted the evacuation of nearby towns and scientists to begin monitoring for an eruption. In December 2000, tens of thousands of people were evacuated by the government based on the warnings of scientists. The volcano then made its largest display in thousands of years.
Popocatepetl is only 70 km to the southeast of Mexico City, from where it can be seen regularly, depending on atmospheric conditions. The residents of Puebla, a mere 40 km east of the volcano, enjoy the views of the snowy and glacier-clad mountain almost all year long. The volcano is also one of the three tall peaks in Mexico to contain glaciers, with the others being Iztaccíhuatl and Pico de Orizaba. Magma erupted from Popocatépetl is a mixture of dacite (65 wt % SiO2, two-pyroxenes + plagioclase + Fe–Ti oxides + apatite, 3 wt % H2O, P = 1·5 kbar, fO2 = NNO + 0·5 log units) and basaltic andesite (53 wt % SiO2, olivine + two-pyroxenes, 3 wt % H2O, P = 1–4 kbar).
The first Spanish ascent of the volcano was made by an expedition led by Diego de Ordaz in 1519. The early 16th-Century monasteries on the slopes of the mountain are a World Heritage Site.

The legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl

cited article: Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl In Aztec mythology, Popocatépetl was a warrior who loved Iztaccíhuatl. Iztaccíhuatl's father sent Popocatepetl to war in Oaxaca, promising him his daughter as his wife if he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he'd not). Iztaccíhuatl's father told her that her lover had fallen in battle and she died of grief. When Popocatépetl returned, and discovered the death of his lover, he committed suicide by plunging a dagger through his heart. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain was called "La Mujer Dormida, (the "Sleeping Woman"), because it bears a resemblance to a woman sleeping on her back. Popocatépetl became the volcano Popocatépetl, 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 (or Istācsohuātl, as they pronounce the name) was the wife of Popo, but the Nevado de Toluca wanted her, and he and Popocatepetl 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 Popocatepetl, 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. (Pittman 1954:59)
   The most popular legend about Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl comes from the ancient Náhuas. As it comes from an oral tradition, there are many versions of the same story. There are also poems and songs telling this beautiful story.
   Many years before Cortés came to Mexico, the Aztecs lived in Tenochtitlán, 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'd 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. One day, a war broke out and the warriors had to go south to fight the enemy. The Emperor told Popoca that he'd 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 couldn't stop crying. She refused to go out and didn't 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, and he told him that other warriors had announced his death. Then, he told him that Izta had died.
   Popoca was very sad. He 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 kneeled 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's still watching over Iztaccíhuatl, who sleeps by his side.
   Another tale is much like the one before. Some warriors who didn't want Popoca to be with Izta, since they liked her themselves, sent a message to the emperor saying that Popoca died. Izta was very sad. She then died of sadness. When Popoca returned he heard about Izta's death. He was also very sad. He went out of town with Izta's body and ordered his soldiers to make a mound for him and Izta. He put Izta's body on one mound and got onto the other with a smoking torch. He stays there forever looking after Izta. Over time dirt, snow, rocks, and Mother Nature covered them turning them into great mountains. Popoca's torch is still smoking as a reminder of what happened.

Picture gallery

Image:Mexico-Popocatepetl.jpg|The north side of Popocatépetl viewed from Paso de Cortés Image:Popocatépetl sunrise.jpg|Popocatépetl at sunrise, looking west, from Puebla Image:Ixta Popo from Puebla.jpg|Popocatépetl, the Paso de Cortés, and Ixtaccíhuatl Further Information

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