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Iztaccíhuatl   »  Summary

Iztaccíhuatl

Iztaccíhuatl Photo

Country:México
Subregion Name:México
Volcano Number:1401-082
Volcano Type: Stratovolcano
Volcano Status:Holocene
Last Known Eruption: Unknown
Summit Elevation: 5230 m 17,159 feet
Latitude: 19.179°N 19°10'44"N
Longitude: 98.642°W 98°38'30"W

Iztaccíhuatl, the "Woman in White," presents the profile of a sleeping woman as seen from the Valley of Mexico. A series of overlapping cones constructed along a NNW-SSE line to the south of the Pleistocene Llano Grande caldera forms the summit ridge of the massive 450 cu km volcano. Andesitic and dacitic Pleistocene and Recent volcanism has taken place from vents at or near the summit of Volcán Iztaccíhuatl. Valley headwalls near the summit vent (El Pecho) are draped with flows and tuff beds post-dating an 11,000 years before present glaciation. The youngest vents are located at the summit and a depression at 5100 m along the summit ridge midway between El Pecho and Los Pies (White 1986). Nixon (1989) considered all summit lavas to be Pleistocene in age, but noted a postglacial dacitic vent on the south flank of Iztaccíhuatl, north of the saddle between it and Popocatépetl.

Global Volcanism ProgramDepartment of Mineral SciencesNational Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian Institution

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