Popocatepetl volcano,Mexico,looking south from the Cortez Pass (Paseo Cortez,3400 metres). This is Mexico's second highest mountain,rising to an elevation of 5452 metres. Its name means 'smoking mountain',with smoke seen rising from the summit caldera. This volcano,estimated to be 730,000 years old,is located 70 kilometres south-east of Mexico City,within Iztaccihuatl-Popocatepetl National Park. It previously had glaciers,but these had melted by 2001,mostly due to increased volcanic activity from the 1990s onwards,with several major ash plumes produced since 2000. Photographed in January 2011 |