page_title: Iztaccihuatl
section_title: Legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl
hierarchical_section_title: Iztaccihuatl / Legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl
caption_attribution_description: Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, DF, Mexico Mexico City volcanos view from Polanco. Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl (from left to right). Other version https://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_websurfer/2201400063/
context_page_description: Iztaccíhuatl, is a 5,230 m dormant volcanic mountain in Mexico located on the border between the State of Mexico and Puebla within Izta-Popo Zoquiapan National Park. It is the nation's third highest, after Pico de Orizaba at 5,636 m, and Popocatépetl at 5,426 m.
  The name "Iztaccíhuatl" is Nahuatl for "White woman", reflecting the four individual snow-capped peaks which depict the head, chest, knees and feet of a sleeping female when seen from east or west. Iztaccíhuatl is to the north of its twin Popocatépetl, to which it is connected by the high altitude Paso de Cortés. Depending on atmospheric conditions Iztaccíhuatl is visible much of the year from Mexico City some 70 km to the northwest. The first recorded ascent was made in 1889, though archaeological evidence suggests the Aztecs and previous cultures climbed it previously. It is the lowest peak containing permanent snow and glaciers in Mexico.
context_section_description: In Aztec mythology, Iztaccíhuatl was a princess who fell in love with one of her father's warriors, Popocatépetl. The emperor sent Popocatépetl to war in Oaxaca, promising him Iztaccíhuatl as his wife when he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he would not). Iztaccíhuatl was falsely told that Popocatépetl had died in battle, and believing the news, she died of grief. When Popocatépetl returned to find his love dead, he took her body to a spot outside Tenochtitlan and kneeled by her grave. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain is called "White Woman" (from Nahuatl iztāc "white" and cihuātl "woman") because it resembles a woman lying on her back, and is often covered with snow — the peak is sometimes nicknamed La Mujer Dormida, "The Sleeping Woman". Popocatépetl became an active volcano, raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved.
caption: Forshortened view of Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl from the Polanco district of Mexico City
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