page_title: Popocatépetl
section_title: Name
hierarchical_section_title: Popocatépetl / Name
caption_attribution_description: English: Popocatépetl during eruption in 2017, seen from UNAM in Mexico city (with 500mm tele)
context_page_description: Popocatépetl is an active stratovolcano, located in the states of Puebla, Morelos and Mexico, in central Mexico, and lies in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt. At 5,426 m it is the second highest peak in Mexico, after Citlaltépetl at 5,636 m.
  It is linked to the twin volcano of Iztaccihuatl to the north by the high saddle known as the "Paso de Cortés". Izta-Popo Zoquiapan National Park, wherein the two volcanoes are located, is named after them.
  Popocatépetl is 70 km southeast of Mexico City, from where it can be seen regularly, depending on atmospheric conditions. Until recently, the volcano was one of three tall peaks in Mexico to contain glaciers, the others being Iztaccihuatl and Pico de Orizaba. In the 1990s, the glaciers such as Glaciar Norte greatly decreased in size, partly due to warmer temperatures but largely due to increased volcanic activity. By early 2001, Popocatépetl's glaciers were gone; ice remained on the volcano, but no longer displayed the characteristic features of glaciers such as crevasses.
  Lava erupting from Popocatépetl has historically been predominantly andesitic, but it has also erupted large volumes of dacite.
context_section_description: The name Popocatépetl comes from the Nahuatl words popōca [poˈpoːka] "it smokes" and tepētl [ˈtepeːt͡ɬ] "mountain", meaning Smoking Mountain. The volcano is also referred to by Mexicans as El Popo. The alternate nickname Don Goyo comes from the mountain's association in the lore of the region with San Gregorio, "Goyo" being a nickname-like short form of Gregorio. Legend says that many years ago, a villager met an old man on the slopes of the mountain, who introduced himself as Gregorio Chino Popocatépetl. Gregorio was a personification of the spirit of the volcano, and communicates with the locals to warn them if an eruption is about to happen. Thus, every March 12, the day of San Gregorio, the locals bring flowers and food to the volcano to celebrate the saint.
caption: Popocatepetl seen from UNAM (instituto de Ecologia with Sigma 500mm), Mexico City
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