Chichinautzin (Mexico)

Status Normal Eruption 400 3930m
Volcanic field (Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km))

The massive Chichinautzin volcanic field covers a 90-km-long, E-W area immediately south of Mexico City. The Sierra Chichinautzin, formed primarily of overlapping small cinder cones and shield volcanoes, creates a broad topographic barrier at the southern end of the Basin of Mexico that extends from the E flank of Nevado de Toluca to the W flank of Iztaccíhuatl. The volcanic field contains more than 220 Pleistocene-to-Holocene monogenetic vents. The best-known eruption occurred about 1670 radiocarbon years ago from the Xitle scoria cone, NE of the Volcán Ajusco lava-dome complex, which forms the highest peak of the Sierra Chichinautzin. The Xitle eruption produced a massive basaltic tube-fed lava flow that covered agricultural lands as well as pyramids and other structures of Cuicuilco and adjacent prehispanic urban centers. The southern part of Mexico City and the National University of México lie atop the distal end of the 13-km-long lava flow.

A wide-angle view of the Chichinautzin volcanic field from the flanks of Popocatépetl volcano shows some of the abundant pyroclastic cones and low shield volcanoes that form the mostly monogenetic field. The massive Chichinautzin volcanic field covers more than 1000 sq km and stretches 90 km in an E-W direction from the eastern base of Nevado de Toluca volcano (the light-colored peak on the left-center horizon) to the western flanks of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes.

Photo by José Macías, 1998 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

Last updated 2019-08-04 00:28:03