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POPOCATEPETL (Aztec popoca " to smoke...

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 91 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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POPOCATEPETL (Aztec popoca " to smoke," tepetl " mountain ")

POPOCATEPETL (Aztec popoca " to See also:
SMOKE (from O. Eng. smeocan, to smoke, reek, cf. Dutch meek, Ger. Schmauch, probably allied to Gr. vol9caiv)
smoke," tepetl " See also:
MOUNTAIN (0. Fr. montaigne; popular Lat. montanea, an adjectival form from the classical mons, montis, whence Eng. " mount," a form usually used along with the name of an individual mountain, e.g. Mt Everest)
MOUNTAIN, THE (La Montagne)
mountain ") , a dormant See also:

VOLCANO

volcano in See also:

Mexico in See also:

lat. 18° 59' 47" N., See also:

long. 98° 33' I" W., which with the neighbouring Ixtaccihuatl (Aztec " See also:

white woman ") forms the See also:

south-eastern limit of the See also:

GREAT

great See also:

basin known as the " Valley of Mexico." As it lies in the See also:

state of See also:

Puebla and is the dominating feature in the views from the See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city of that name, it is sometimes called the Puebla volcano. It is the second highest See also:

SUMMIT

summit in Mexico, its shapely, See also:

SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

snow-covered See also:

CONE (Gr. Kwvos)

cone rising to a height of 17,876 ft., or 438 ft. See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short of that of See also:

Orizaba. This See also:

ELEVATION

elevation was reported by the Mexican See also:

GEOLOGICAL

geological survey in 1895, and as the Mexican See also:

GEOGRAPHICAL

Geographical Society calculated the elevation at 17,888 ft., it may be accepted as nearly correct. The bulk of the mountain consists of See also:

ANDESITE

andesite, but See also:

PORPHYRY (IlopcPisptos) (A.D. 233-c. 304)

porphyry, See also:

OBSIDIAN

obsidian, See also:

TRACHYTE (Gr. rpaxus, rough)

trachyte, See also:

BASALT

basalt, and other similar rocks are also represented. It has a stratified cone showing a long See also:

period of activity. At the See also:

FOOT

foot of the eastern slope stretches a vast See also:

LAVA

lava See also:

field—the " malpays " (malepais) of Atlachayacatl—which, according to See also:

Humboldt, lies 6o to 8o ft. above the See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain and extends 18,000 ft. See also:

east to See also:

west with a breadth of 6000 ft. Its formation must be of great antiquity. The ascent of Popocatepetl is made on the See also:

north-eastern slope, where rough roads are kept open by See also:

SULPHUR

sulphur See also:

CARRIERS

carriers and See also:

TIMBER

timber cutters. Describing his ascent in 1904, Hans Gadow states that the forested region begins in the foot-hills a little above 8000 ft., and continues up the slope to an elevation of over 13,000 ft. On the See also:

LOWER

lower slopes the See also:

FOREST

forest is composed in great See also:

PART

part of the long-leaved Pinus liophylla, accompanied by See also:

DECIDUOUS (from Lat. decidere, to fall down)

deciduous oaks and a variety of other trees and shrubs.

From about 9500 ft. to 11,500 ft. the Mexican " oyamel," or See also:

fir (Abies religiosa) becomes the See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal See also:

SPECIES

species, interspersed with See also:

EVERGREEN

evergreen See also:

OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak, arbutus and See also:

elder. Above this See also:

belt the firs gradually disappear and are succeeded by the short-leaved Pinus montezumae, or Mexican " ocote "—one of the largest species of See also:

PINE (Lat. Pinus, Gr. srlrur)

pine in the See also:

REPUBLIC (Lat. respublica, a commonweal or common-wealth)

republic. These continue to the upper See also:

tree-See also:

LINE

line, accompanied by red and See also:

PURPLE

purple See also:

PENTSTEMON

Pentstemon and See also:

LIGHT

light See also:

BLUE (common in different forms to most European languages)

blue lupins in the open spaces, some ferns, and occasional masses of alpine See also:

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

flowers. Above the tree line the vegetation continues only a comparatively short distance, consisting chiefly of tussocks of coarse grass, and occasional flowering See also:

PLANTS

plants, the highest noted being a little Draba. At about 14,500 ft. horses are See also:

LEFT

left behind, though they could be forced farther up through the loose lava and ashes. On the snow-covered cone the See also:

HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat of the See also:

sun is intense, though the thermometer recorded a temperature of 34° in See also:

SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September. The reflection of light from the snow is See also:

BLINDING

blinding. The rim of the See also:

CRATER

crater is reached at an elevation of about 17,500 ft. Another description places the snow-line at 14,268 ft., and the upper tree-line a thousand feet lower. A detailed description of the volcano was published by the Mexican geological survey in 1895 according to which the crater is elliptical in See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form, 2008 by 1312 ft., and has a See also:

DEPTH

depth of 16J7 ft. below the summit of the highest See also:

PINNACLE (from Lat. pinnaculum, a little feather, pinna; the Gr. rrspirylov, diminutive of irsipuE, wing, is also used in this sense)

pinnacle and 673 ft. below the lowest part of the rim, which is very irregular in height. The steep, ragged walls of the crater show a great variety of See also:

COLOURS, MILITARY

colours, intensified by the light from the deep blue See also:

SKY (M. Eng. skie, cloud; O. Eng. skua, shade; connected with an Indo-European root sku, cover, whence " scum," Lat. obscurus, dark, &c.)

sky above. Huge patches of sulphur, some still smouldering, are everywhere visible, intermingled with the white streaks of snow and See also:

ICE (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Eis)

ice that fill the crevices and See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover the ledges of the See also:

black rocks.

The See also:

WATER

water from the melted snow forms a small See also:

lake at the bottom of the crater, from which it filters through fissures to the heated rocks below and thence escapes as See also:

steam or through other fissures to the See also:

MINERAL

mineral springs at the mountain's See also:

BASE

base. The See also:

INDIAN

Indian sulphur miners go down by means of ladders, or are lowered by rope and windlass, and the mineral is sent down the mountain See also:

side in a chute 2000 to 3000 ft. Some observers See also:

REPORT (O.Fr. report or raport, modern rapport, from O.Fr. reporter, mod. rap porter, Lat. reportare, to bring back, in poetical use only, of bringing back an account, news, &c.)

report that steam is to be seen rising from fissures in the bottom of the crater, and all are See also:

UNITED

united in speaking of the fumes of burning sulphur that rise from its depths. That volcanic influences are still See also:

PRESENT

present may be inferred from the circumstance that the snow cap on Popocatepetl disappeared just before the remarkable See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of earthquakes that shook the whole of central Mexico on the 3oth and 31st of See also:

JULY

July 1909. It is believed that Diego de Ordaz was the first See also:

EUROPEAN

European to reach the summit of Popocatepetl, though no See also:

PROOF (in M. Eng. preove, proeve, preve, &°c., from O. Fr . prueve, proeve, &c., mod. preuve, Late. Lat. proba, probate, to prove, to test the goodness of anything, probus, good)

proof of this remains further than that See also:

Cortes sent a party of ten men in 1519 to ascend a burning mountain. In 1522 Francisco Montano made the ascent and had himself let down into the crater a depth of 400 or 500 ft. No second ascent is recorded until See also:

APRIL

April and See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November 1827 (see Brantz See also:

Mayer, Mexico, vol. ii.). Other ascents were made in 1834, 1848 and subsequent years, members of the Mexican geological survey spending two days on the summit in 1895.

End of Article: POPOCATEPETL (Aztec popoca " to smoke," tepetl " mountain ")

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