Jocotitlán, also known as Xocotépetl (), is a

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

in the

Jocotitlán Jocotitlán is a municipality located in the northwestern part of the State of Mexico on the central highlands of the country of Mexico. The municipal seat is the town of Jocotitlán and is located at the foot of the Jocotitlán or Xocotépetl v ...

and

Atlacomulco Atlacomulco is one of 125 municipalities in the State of Mexico located in the northwest of the State of Mexico in central Mexico, from the state capital of Toluca. The municipal seat is the city of Atlacomulco de Fabela. The name is derived fr ...

municipalities, in the State of Mexico. At above sea level, its summit is the 12th highest peak of

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 ...

. Jocotitlán volcano lies in the northern part of the

Toluca Valley The Toluca Valley is a valley in central Mexico, just west of the Valley of Mexico (Mexico City), the old name was Matlatzinco. The valley runs north–south for about , surrounded by mountains, the most imposing of which is the Nevado de Toluca Vo ...

. It is part of the Eje Neovolcánico, a

volcanic belt A volcanic belt is a large volcanically active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields. Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature () where magma is created by partial melting ...

that traverses south-central Mexico. It is a stratovolcano formed by

tephra Tephra is fragmental material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism. Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, they re ...

and solidified

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

flows. The volcano lies within the Isidro Fabela state park, a protected area of 3701 ha established in 1975. Jocotitlán was considered holy by the Mazahua and

Otomi The Otomi (; es, Otomí ) are an indigenous people of Mexico inhabiting the central Mexican Plateau (Altiplano) region. The Otomi are an indigenous people of Mexico who inhabit a discontinuous territory in central Mexico. They are linguisticall ...

peoples. The former called it ''Nguemore'' ("

sacred mountain Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many rel ...

"), while the latter called it ''Gumidi'' ("he who sits facing straight forward"). In

Pre-Columbian Mexico The pre-Columbian (or prehispanic) history of the territory now making up the country of Mexico is known through the work of archaeologists and epigraphers, and through the accounts of Spanish conquistadores, settlers and clergymen as well as ...

, the volcano held a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

for Otontecuhtli, the Otomi king of the gods, also known to the

Nahua people The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...

fire god This is a list of deities in fire worship. African mythology Yoruba mythology * Ogun, fire god and patron of blacksmiths, iron, warfare, metal tools * Ọya, goddess of fire, wind, transforms into buffalo, fertility * Shango, god of thunder and ...

Xiuhtecuhtli In Aztec mythology, Xiuhtecuhtli ("Turquoise Lord" or "Lord of Fire"), was the god of fire, day and heat. In historical sources he is called by many names, which reflect his varied aspects and dwellings in the three parts of the cosmos. He was t ...

. The volcano has also held a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

since the 1980s. At , it is probably one of the highest chapels in Mexico. Jocotitlán is a potentially active volcano, having erupted at least twice in the last 10,000 years. A series of

cinder cones A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions ...

lying just north of the Jocotitlán volcano shows how intense the volcanic activity in the region is. If it erupts, the volcano could pose a serious threat to

Greater Toluca Greater Toluca or the Metropolitan Area of Toluca is the conurbation formed by Toluca, as the core city, and 12 adjacent municipalities of the state of Mexico, namely Almoloya de Juárez, Calimaya, Chapultepec, Lerma, Metepec, Mexicaltzingo, Ocoyo ...

and even

Greater Mexico City Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico ( es, Zona metropolitana del Valle de México). It encompasses Mexico City itself and 60 adjacent municipalities of the S ...

. The volcano can be easily climbed from the town of Jocotitlán. A winding 19 km

country lane A country lane is a narrow road in the countryside. In North America and Australia, the term "lane" also may refer to rear access roads which act as a secondary vehicular network in cities and towns. Some towns and cities in the United Kingdom, i ...

leads up to the

microwave antenna A microwave antenna is a physical transmission device used to broadcast microwave transmissions between two or more locations. In addition to broadcasting, antennas are also used in radar, radio astronomy and electronic warfare. Microwave freq ...

located near the summit.

Notes

External links

* * *

References

{{reflist Sacred mountains Active volcanoes Mountains of Mexico Stratovolcanoes of Mexico Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Landforms of the State of Mexico Geography of Mesoamerica Locations in Aztec mythology Locations in Mesoamerican mythology North American 3000 m summits Volcanoes of the State of Mexico Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Holocene stratovolcanoes