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Popocatépetl (commonly referred to as Popo) is an active volcano and the second highest peak in Mexico after Pico de Orizaba (5,610m). Popocatépetl is the Aztec word for Smoking Mountain. One major eruption occurred in 1947. Then, on December 21, 1994 the volcano spewed gas and ash which was carried as far as 25 km away by prevailing winds. The activity prompted the evacuation of nearby towns and prompted scientists to begin monitoring for an eruption.
In December 2000, tens of thousands of people were evacuated by the government based on the warnings of scientists. The volcano then made its largest display in thousands of years.
Popo is a mere 70 km to the southeast of Mexico City and is often visible from the capital, depending on atmospheric conditions.
The first Spanish ascent of the mountain was made by an expedition led by Diego de Ordaz in 1519.
The early 16th-Century monasteries on the slopes of the mountain are a World Heritage Site.
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The Legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl
In Aztec mythology, Popocatépetl was a warrior who loved Iztaccíhuatl.
Iztaccíhuatl's father sent him to war in Oaxaca, promising him his daughter as his wife if he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he would not). Iztaccíhuatl was told her lover was dead and she died of grief. When he returned, he in turn died of grief over losing her. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain was called "Sleeping Woman" because it bears a resemblance to a woman laying on her back. He became the volcano Popocatépetl, raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved.
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