Cuexcomate
Encyclopedia
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
in Puebla
Puebla, Puebla
The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. Being a planned city, it is located to the east of Mexico City and west of Mexico's main port, Veracruz, on the main route between the two.The city was founded...
city, Puebla
Puebla
Puebla officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla....
state, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It stands at 13 metres (43 feet) with a diameter of 23 metres (75 feet) and is thought to be the smallest volcano on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
The volcano was formed in 1064 by an eruption of the Popocatépetl
Popocatépetl
Popocatépetl also known as "Popochowa" by the local population is an active volcano and, at , the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba...
, an active volcano and the second highest peak
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in Mexico. There is a metal spiral staircase that allows tourists to descend into the volcano.
The name is from Nahuatl for "clay pot" or "place to keep".
location: 19 04 14.02N, 98 14 06.92W
Characteristics
- Volcano Type: big
- Height: 13 meters.1metre
- Crater Diameter: 8 meters.
- Base Exterior Diameter: 23 meters.
- Weight: approx. 40 tons.
- Elevation: 13 meters.bo
- First Eruption: 1064
- Last Eruption: 1662
- Coordinates: 19°04′14.7"N 98°14′05.7"W.
Description
A description of the Cuexcomate Volcano from the year 1585 says: "at one league from this city, close to the bridge that they call Cholula, there is in a large grassland... in circular shape, a rock of 6 or 7 estados high, at the top of which there is a great mouth as if it were made to hold a waterwheel. The which is very deep, and at the bottom of which there is foul smelling water, a very important thing to note: there they say that in the heathen days they threw in (indios) natives to be sacrificed to their idols."The crater of Cuexcomate is an empty limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
cone of an extinct geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
.
History
It was formed by a burst of hydrogen sulfide geyser, and volcanic lava, as a chain reaction from the 1064 eruption of PopocatépetlPopocatépetl
Popocatépetl also known as "Popochowa" by the local population is an active volcano and, at , the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba...
, located in the town of La Libertad.
It was said that in ancient times, the people of Puebla threw the bodies of suicide victims into the crater, because they didn't deserve to be mourned or buried.
During this same time, the people living around the volcano were said to be 'children of the devil' or 'under the rule of the devil', because of Cuexcomate.
It is believed that of the various tunnels that cross under the city of Puebla, Puebla
Puebla, Puebla
The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. Being a planned city, it is located to the east of Mexico City and west of Mexico's main port, Veracruz, on the main route between the two.The city was founded...
, one travels from the hill of Loreto to the hill of San Juan(now the hill of La Paz) and from there travels down to the hill Cuexcomate, afterward crossing under the Atoyac river and ending in the Archaeological zone of Cholula and its pyramids.
On March 11, 1943, the town of La Libertad was incorporated into the city of Puebla, Puebla
Puebla, Puebla
The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. Being a planned city, it is located to the east of Mexico City and west of Mexico's main port, Veracruz, on the main route between the two.The city was founded...
.
In the chronology of historical events, on November 27, 1970 a plaque was placed to commemorate the founding of the town around the sides of the Cuexcomate volcano.
Tourism
The volcano is found between 2 Poniente (west) and 3 Norte (north), in the Colonia La Libertad, Puebla.There are spiral metal stairs that allow one to descend to the interior of the crater.
The Taal volcano in the Philippines is the world's smallest, famous for being a volcano set in the middle of a lake in the middle of an island, but the Taal is only the smallest active volcano.
Technically, Cuexcomate is not a “real “ volcano because it was formed only as a geyser when Popocatépetl erupted.