Sierra Negra (also, and perhaps more properly, Cerro La Negra) is an extinct volcano located in the Mexican state of Puebla, close to the border with

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. At officially above sea level, it is the fifth-highest peak in Mexico. Sierra Negra is overshadowed by nearby

Pico de Orizaba Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl (from Nahuatl = star, and = mountain), is an inactive stratovolcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest in North America, after Denali of Alaska in the United States and Mount ...

(5,610 m/18,406 ft).

Overview

Sierra Negra is located within the Pico de Orizaba National Park. The mountain is the site for two of the world's premier astronomical instruments, the

Large Millimeter Telescope The Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) ( es, Gran Telescopio Milimétrico, or GTM) -officially Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano ( es, Gran Telescopio Milimétrico Alfonso Serrano)- is the world's largest single-aperture telescope in its f ...

and the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory. Therefore, the access to the mountain is restricted and has to be applied for at least a week in advance. The service road for this facility is claimed to be the highest road in North America. A part of the telescope facility is visible as a white dot in the first picture below and more clearly in the second picture. The

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

word ''sierra'' is usually applied to

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s or ridges. However, a few mountains were given the name ''sierra'' after the

Conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

, like ''Sierra de Tlaxcala'' or ''Sierra de Tolocan'' (now outdated names for Malinche and

Nevado de Toluca Nevado de Toluca () is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area ar ...

, respectively). As listed by the Mexican geographical institute

INEGI The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its name in es, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Sta ...

, the official name for the Sierra Negra ("Black Mountains") is Cerro La Negra ("Black Lady Hill"), although the latter is largely unused in common speech. The Nahuatl names Tliltépetl ("Black Mountain") or Atlitzin ("Our Lord (or Lady) of the Waters") are sometimes attached. Speakers of

Orizaba Nahuatl Orizaba Nahuatl is a native American language spoken in the southeastern Mexican state of Veracruz mostly in the area to the south of the city of Orizaba. It is also known as Orizaba Aztec and Náhuatl de la Sierra de Zongolica. It has 79 percent ...

call the mountain ''Iztactepetl Icni'' ("Sibling of the White Mountain"; the "White Mountain" being the Pico de Orizaba). The mountain range to the east of the city of Tehuacán (south of but still in sight of the Pico de Orizaba), with such principal towns as Zoquitlán and Coyomeapan, is also known as the "Sierra Negra", which (unsurprisingly) can cause confusion.

References

External links

*
The Large Millimeter Telescope

Peakbagger.com: Sierra Negra
* (includes Sierra Negra) * (in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Negra Landforms of Puebla Geography of Puebla Mountains of Mexico Stratovolcanoes of Mexico Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt North American 4000 m summits Volcanoes of Puebla

Overview

See also

References

External links