Nevado de Toluca

Nevado de Toluca
North America prominent 61st Mexico highest major peaks 4th
Coordinates	19°06′06″N 99°46′03″W / 19.10167°N 99.76750°W / 19.10167; -99.76750[1]
Geography
Nevado de Toluca Location in Mexico Show map of State of Mexico Nevado de Toluca Nevado de Toluca (Mexico) Show map of Mexico
Location	México, Mexico
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Volcanic arc/belt	Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
Last eruption	1350 BCE (?)
Climbing
Easiest route	road, hiking trail

Nevado de Toluca (Spanish:

The volcano has a 1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi) wide summit

There are two crater lakes on the floor of the basin at about 4,200 m (13,800 ft), the larger Lago del Sol (Sun Lake) and the smaller, but deeper, Lago de la Luna (Moon Lake).^[5]

A road formerly ran into the caldera to the lakes, but is now gated 2 km before the lakes.^{[citation needed]}

From the southeast, Nevado de Toluca looks flat-topped, like shoulders without a head. A Nahuatl legend (recounted as part of the legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl) provides a mythical explanation.^[6]

360° panoramic view from crater rim of Nevado Toluca, 120 km to the east the Popocatépetl rises out of the clouds

Geology

It is believed that Nevado de Toluca may once have been as tall as Popocatépetl, until an enormous eruption nearly 25,000 years ago blasted the top of the cone off and reduced its height by as much as 900 m (3,000 ft).^[5] The same eruption generated thick lahars, or mudflows, which coated the sides of the mountains. An eruption approximately 500 years later deposited layers of pumice on the mountain's east and northeast slopes.^[5]

The last major

The volcano became inactive after a volcanic plug formed in the volcano's vent. The plug eventually became known as El Ombligo ("the Navel").^[5]

Climate

Near the summit, Nevado de Toluca has a cold alpine climate (Köppen climate classification ET) with cold temperatures year round. There is little variation in the temperatures and frost and snow can occur in any month. The winter season covers from November to April and precipitation is low, averaging 7.5 millimetres (0.5 in) in March, the driest month.^[7] Temperatures during this time are cold, averaging 2.3 °C (36.1 °F) in January. The summer season spans from May to October and precipitation is very high, averaging 235.4 millimetres (9.5 in) in July. Temperatures during this time are warm, averaging 5.3 °C (41.5 °F) in May. The summit is often foggy, averaging 78 days with fog, most of it during the monsoon season.^[7] The wettest record month was July 2008 when 513.5 millimetres (20 in) of precipitation fell and the wettest recorded day was July 16, 1999 when 90.5 millimetres (3.5 in) of precipitation fell. The highest temperature ever recorded was 23 °C (73.4 °F) on August 16, 1993 and the lowest temperature recorded was −10 °C (14.0 °F) on February 2, 2004.

Archeological sites

There are 18 registered archeological sites in the park, as this was a ritual center during pre-Hispanic periods. Bernardino de Sahagún wrote about the lakes as a place where the indigenous held ceremonies and sacrifices. The lakes themselves are considered to be two sites, as a large number of offerings, especially copal, were deposited in the lakes. These deposits can be found all over the lakebed as the burning copal was set adrift on the lakes’ waters until it sank. Other objects have been found such as ceramics and sculpted stones. Divers used to sack many of the pieces found here but now authorities carefully monitor those who dive.^[9][10]

Most of the other sites are found on the crater's walls and peaks. One of the sites is called Xicotepec which is at the top of a rocky dome known as the Cerro de Ombligo (Spanish for "the navel").

See also

• List of mountain peaks of North America
  • List of mountain peaks of Mexico
    • List of volcanoes in Mexico
    • List of Ultras of Mexico
• Nevado de Toluca National Park
• Arqueologia Mexicana

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nevado de Toluca.

• "Nevado de Toluca". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
• Arce, J. L.; Macías, J. L.; Vázquez-Selem, L. (2003). "The 10.5 ka Plinian eruption of Nevado de Toluca volcano, Mexico: Stratigraphy and hazard implications". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 115 (2): 230–248.
  doi:10.1130/0016-7606(2003)115<0230:TKPEON>2.0.CO;2
  .
• Secor, R. J. (2001). Mexico's Volcanoes: A Climbing Guide (3rd ed.).
  ISBN 0-89886-798-3
  .
• Yarza de la Torre, Esperanza (1971). Volcanes de México (in Spanish). Aguilar. p. 237 pp.