El Popo (Mexico's active volcano)

   As a child it is hard to realize the geological aspects of your surroundings.  Must of us are mainly interested on a trip to anywhere to get out of the house and have fun. My father had a great respect for nature and wanted us to learn about it as well as the history behind it. Some of our trips included going to museums, the Aztec Pyramids, the ocean, rivers and a few trips to visit the snow covered mountains, El Popo and Iztaccihuatl, oh the good old days!! When my parents moved to Mexico City, it was a big valley. In any given morning, if it was a clear day, both mountains were visible from the house (not too much pollution as present days!).
       We all grew up knowing the legend of these two mountains.  Even in present days, school age students know it.

       Popocateptl and Iztaccihuatl ~ Popocateptl ("the Smoking Mountain"), Iztaccihuatl (Sleeping Woman)
According to legend, Iztaccihuatl's dad sent Popocatepetl to war in Oaxaca and promise him his daughter in marriage if he returned. After a few days, Iztaccihuatl's dad told her that he had died in battle, she became very sad and died.  When Popocateptl returned, he discovered that his loved one had died.  He became very sad.  He carried her lifeless body up to some hills and laid her on her back.  As for him, he said she was only asleep, therefore, he will be at her side for eternity protecting her while she slept.  A little after, his broken heart will not live anymore , he died watching over her loved one. As the God's watched this sacrifice of love, they turned the bodies into great  mountains and covered them with snow.  He sometimes stills throws out smoke, showing that he is still watching over Iztaccihuatl, who sleeps by his side.

That's a nice story, but this is the real deal: Following are some facts about El Popo, one of Mexico's active volcano.

Age: 730,000
Elevation: 5,426 m (17,802 ft)
Prominence: 3,020 m (9,908 ft) Ranked 89th
Listing: Ultra
Location: Mexico-Puebla-Morelos
Type: Estratovolcano
Last eruption 2013 (ongoing)
Easiest rout: rock/snow climb

El Popo is currently active after being dormant for about half of last century.  One of the major eruptions happened in 1947.

In more recent times, following are some dates of recorded activity:

"On Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 at 7:28 pm local time, El Popo erupted again with a high amplitude tremor that lasted and was recorded for 3.5 hours.  It began with plumes of ash that rose 3 km into the air and began drifting W at first, but later began to drift ESE covering areas of the villages of
San Juan Tianguismanalco, San Pedro Benito Juarez and the City of Puebla in smoke and ash.  Explosions from the volcano itself subsequently ejected fragments of fiery volcanic rock to distances of 700 m from the crater". (Inside Mexico Publishing, Oct 2011)

On our recent visit to Mexico City we noticed for a couple of days that the cars had this talc like film layer, as well as on the sidewalks.  I was not sure what it was until they told me it came from the volcano. The volcano had been exploding for several days.  Citizens are urge to sweep the ash and place it in a plastic bag to avoid clogging of the drains. The national alert had been moved to Yellow Phase 3. "On July 4th, 2013, One of the world's most active volcanoes, Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano, has come to life, spewing ash, gas, and steam (as seen from the village of Santiago Xalitzintla)." (National Geographic Daily News, July 2013)

"July 12, 2013 - Popocatepetl volcano spewed a 2 mile high cloud of ash over Mexico City over several days of eruptions. Volcanic dust from the volcano has coated cars in Mexico City and thicker accumulations coated crops, homes, and sidewalks in towns closer to the volcano." (The Christian Science Monitor, July 2013)

Some of the locals have expressed the trouble they have with the ash since most of the water they use comes from the melting snow from the volcano, and when the ash falls on the water they are not able to use it, therefore, they don't have water for bathing, cooking, or to feed their animals etc.

During these days, Mexico City's airport cancelled some flights due to climate conditions.  Our flight was schedule for Saturday, July 13.  We didn't have problems with that.  Following are some pictures we took (well my brother did!) as we were driving back home from a fieldtrip on July 10th.

For now this is it folks!

Bea :)



References:

1. Inside Mexico Publishing. htt:://www.inside-mexico.com. October 2011

2. Natural Geographic Daily News. July 2013

3. The Christian Science Monitor. www.csmonitor.com. July 2013