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Alpine Zones

Pico de Orizaba: (Aztec name: Citlaltépetl – “Mountain of the Star”)

General Information:

Pico de Orizaba is the third highest peak in North America, after Mt Logan and Mt McKinley. Its 5,700 m (or 18,700 ft.) forms a steep cone at the eastern end of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). The TMVB, built on the southern edge of the North American plate, runs from the Pacific in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the East. The summit rises 2,900 m to the west and a massive 4,300 m to the east giving it a majestic appearence.

Formation and Short History:

Pico de Orizaba is a stratovolcano. The mountain was probably formed during three main stages starting at the beginning of the mid-Pleistocene. The modern appearance of the volcano was shaped during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Andesite and dacitic lavas formed the steep sided cone we see today. The volcano had its latest eruptions in 1566 and 1687 but is still considered to be active. Although Pico de Orizaba has not had a major eruption in centuries, the history of the volcano shows relatively regular eruptions with major pyroclastic flows approximately every 1000-2000 years. It is now about 3400 years since the last pyroclastic flow eruption. Approximately 500 000 people live in cities and towns around its base, thus in an event of such a major eruption, the volcano would have the potential to cause a huge catastrophe.

Climbing Pico the Orizaba:

The story is that the first organized attempt to reach the summit of Orizaba was done by Karl Sartorius in 1848. When he got to the summit he found a plaque with the names F. Maynard and G. Reynolds who were troopers of the Winfield Scott’s army during the Mexican-American war between 1846-1848. It is said that their first ascent was done on May 10, 1848. The best period for ascent is between December to April during the dry season. An unofficial estimation by a local mountain guide was that approximately 2000 people try to reach the summit of Orizaba every year and that 65-70 % fail to go all the way due to difficulties coping with effects of high altitude.

Popocatepetl and Iztacchihuatl:

There are a large number of volcanoes in Mexico but three in particular are often referred to in terms of high altitude climbing. The second tallest one after Pico de Orizaba is Popocatepetl (5465 m), which is currently closed to climbers due to recent eruptions. In December 1994, after about 70 years without major eruptions, Popocatepetl marked the beginning of a new episode of volcanic activity. In 1996, 5 climbers were reported killed by an explosion while they were on the summit. The name Popocatepetl is derived from the Aztecs word for “Smoking mountain”, and the volcano is considered one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico. The third popular volcano for climbers and the third highest peak in Mexico is called Iztacchihuatl (5286 m; 17338 ft). In Aztec mythology, Iztaccihuatl was the daughter of an Aztec emperor and Popocatepetl was the lover of Iztaccihuatl. Popo was sent out to war by Iztas father. Izta was falsely informed that Popo had died in battle and died herself in grief. When Popo returned he placed Izta on the ground and died too in grief. This is why Popocatepetl still today takes out his revenge on the death of his love in the shape of the “Smoking mountain”. The meaning of Iztaccihuatl today is the “Sleeping woman” because the appearance of the mountain resembles a woman laying down. The major volcanic activity of Iztaccihuatl is reported to have ended about 80 000 years ago.

References

Articles by Luca Ferrari:
The Geochemical Puzzle of the Trans-Mexican volcanic Belt: Mantle Plume, Continental Rifting, or Mantle Perturbation Induced by subduction?

USGS/Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington

University of North Dakota – Volcano World

Text by Jonas

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