Cuexcomate () is an inactive

geyser A geyser (, ) is a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in ...

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

city,

state,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The sinter cone that the geyser built up around its vent is tall and has a diameter of . A central crater within the cone is up to wide and deep (extending below ground level). Cuexcomate's name is derived from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

term '' cuezcomatl'' "a large earthen jar used to store grain", because of its resemblance to such a vessel. Historically, it has been cited that the geyser was formed before the 1064 eruption of the

Popocatépetl Popocatépetl (; Nahuatl: ) is an active stratovolcano located in the states of Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico in central Mexico. It lies in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. At it is the second highest peak in Mexico, after C ...

, an active volcano and the second highest

peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...

in Mexico, which likely activated geothermal spring circulation that cut upward through

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

limestone and deposited the geyser and the springs around it. The geyser's rock composition is 99%

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

, differing thus from typical silica sinter deposits. Cuexcomate has been mistakenly called 'the smallest volcano in the world' because of the popular belief that it was indeed a volcano, based only on the shape of the structure; however, it is not a volcano. Today, there is a metal spiral staircase that allows tourists to descend into the excavated interior of the structure, where cultural events are occasionally done.

Characteristics

* Geyser Type: calcitic chemical deposit * Height: * Crater Diameter: . * Base Exterior Diameter: . * Weight: approx. 400 tons. * Mode of formation: emanating geothermal waters with occasional high-pressured bursts

Description

A description of Cuexcomate 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 cone of an extinct

History

Cuexcomate was formed, in an area that was to become the town of La Libertad, by hydrothermal circulation prior to the 1064 eruption of

. La Libertad was incorporated into the city of

in 1943. On November 27, 1970, a plaque was placed to commemorate the founding of La Libertad around the sides of the Cuexcomate geyser. It was said that in ancient times, the people of Puebla threw the bodies of suicide victims into the crater, because they did not deserve to be mourned or buried. During this same time, the people living around the geyser 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, one runs 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.

Tourism

The geyser is found at the intersection of 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.

References

{{Reflist Puebla (city) Landforms of Puebla Tourist attractions in Puebla Geysers of Mexico

Characteristics

Description

History

Tourism

See also

References