Jocotitlán, also known as Xocotépetl (), is a

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

in the Jocotitlán and

Atlacomulco Atlacomulco is one of 125 municipalities of Mexico, 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 ...

municipalities, in the

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

. At

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, its

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

is the 12th highest peak of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. 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 V ...

. It is part of the Eje Neovolcánico, a volcanic belt that traverses south-central Mexico. It is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

formed by

tephra Tephra is fragmental material produced by a Volcano, 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, ...

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 Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

flows. The volcano lies within the Isidro Fabela

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

, a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

of 3701 ha established in 1975. Jocotitlán was considered holy by the Mazahua and Otomi peoples. The former called it ''Nguemore'' (" sacred mountain"), while the latter called it ''Gumidi'' ("he who sits facing straight forward"). In Pre-Columbian Mexico, the volcano held a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

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

Nahua people The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group i ...

as fire god Xiuhtecuhtli. The volcano has also held a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

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 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 and even Greater Mexico City. The volcano can be easily climbed from the town of Jocotitlán. A winding 19 km country lane leads up to the microwave antenna located near the summit.

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References

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