Popocatepetl, Mexico – Explosive activity continues at Popocatépetl Volcano, with a volcanic ash plume reaching an estimated altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 meters), according to the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Washington.

Popocatépetl, known as the “smoking mountain” in the Aztec language, stands 5,426 meters tall and is located about 70 kilometers southeast of Mexico City. It is North America’s second-highest volcano, featuring a glacier-covered stratovolcano with a steep crater between 250 and 450 meters deep.

The volcano’s shape is altered by Ventorrillo, a sharp peak on its northwest side, which is the remnant of an older volcanic cone. In the Pleistocene epoch, at least three major cones were destroyed by gravitational collapse, creating extensive debris-avalanche deposits south of the volcano.

The current volcano formed to the south of the El Fraile cone, which dates from the late Pleistocene to Holocene. Since the mid-Holocene, Popocatépetl has produced three major Plinian eruptions, the last occurring around 800 AD. These eruptions were accompanied by pyroclastic flows and large lahars that swept across surrounding basins.

Historical records of Popocatépetl’s eruptions date back to pre-Columbian Aztec codices, showing frequent volcanic activity over centuries.

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