Pico De Orizaba volcano
Other ITA web sites:
Pico De Orizaba volcano, Mexico
Pico de Orizaba (Volcan Citlaltepetl), Mexico's highest peak and North America's highest volcano, rises 4500 m above the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain.
Its 5675-m-high summit contains a 500-m-wide, oval-shaped crater that is 300 m deep. It is seen here from the NNE with the Jamapa glacier at the right above the NW-flank peak of Sarcofago (right center).
The present summit cone was constructed during the Holocene, overtopping previously collapsed edifices.
The last eruption occurred during the 19th century.
Pico de Orizaba (Volcan Citlaltepetl), Mexico's highest peak and North America's highest volcano, was formed in three stages beginning during the mid-Pleistocene.
Orizaba lies at the southern end of a volcanic chain extending north to Cofre de Perote volcano and towers up to 4400 m above its eastern base.
Construction of the initial Torrecillas and Espolon de Oro volcanoes was contemporaneous with growth of Sierra Negra volcano on the SW flank and was followed by edifice collapses that produced voluminous debris avalanches and lahars.
The modern Citlaltepetl volcano was constructed during the late Pleistocene and Holocene of viscous andesitic and dacitic lavas, forming the current steep-sided cone.
Repetitive explosive eruptions beginning during the early Holocene accompanied lava dome growth and lava effusion. Historical eruptions have consisted of moderate explosive activity and the effusion of dacitic lava flows.
The latest eruption of the volcano occurred during the 19th century
PHOTO SOURCE: Photo by Gerardo Carrasco-Nunez, 1997 (Universidad Autonoma Nacional de Mexico).
NOTE: The information regarding Volcano on this page is re-published from other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Volcano information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Volcano photos should be addressed to the copyright owner noted below the photo.
Please bookmark this page (add it to your favorites).
This page was last modified 16-Jul-2015, Copyright © 1995-2020 ITA all rights reserved.