Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

The Sierra Volcánica transverse (also called Eje Transversal Volcánico etc.) is an approximately 750 km long and about 50 kilometers wide east-west running mountain range in central Mexico. The snow capped mountains in the winter of - with only 120 kilometers - in total much smaller eastern part are also known as the Sierra Nevada.

Location

The Sierra Volcánica transverse stretches south of Mexico City on a line from the State of Veracruz to the east across the states of Puebla, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Hidalgo, México, Querétaro, Guanajuato in the center to the states of Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit western Mexico.

Geology

The emergence of Sierra Volcánica Transversal is possibly related to a forming land bridge and the integration of the Americas. This north -directed thrust forces emerged in the south of the North American continental plate, which ultimately led to the emergence of the volcanic chain. Most volcanoes are extinct thousands of years ago, but some are always active again; moreover, form entirely new - as from the year 1943, the Paricutin in the western state of Michoacan.

All active volcanoes of Mexico are monitored since the 1980s seismically to impending eruptions predict and be able to arrange any evacuation measures in time. In the past, this has been done more than once.

Importance

In contrast to the two main mountain ranges in northern Mexico, both of which extend in a north-south direction (Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental ), run the Sierra Volcánica transversal or the Sierra Nevada in east-west direction. The mountains Pico de Orizaba ( 5636 m), Sierra Negra ( 4621 m), Cofre de Perote ( 4282 m), Malintzin ( 4461 m), Popocatépetl ( 5426 m), Iztaccihuatl ( 5230 m), Nevado de Toluca ( 4680 m) and Colima ( 4330 m) are the highest in the country.

History

Already in pre-Hispanic times, the mountain giants were revered by the indigenous peoples of Mexico as sacred and emblazoned with legends, one of which, however, most were lost in the course of Christianity during the Spanish colonial period. Your sources donated the vital water and at the same time was the ever- blazing fire in them signs of threatening forces. Although there is no documented evidence exists for a relationship between the Mesoamerican temple pyramids and the volcanic mountains, the probability is high that the construction of the temple pyramids of central Mexico mimics the regular and majestic appearance of the volcanic mountains in some way.

Ascent

The Spanish conquistador Diego de Ordás boarded with a small group of soldiers in 1519 on the train of Hernán Cortés after Tenochtitlán the Popocatépetl there to look for sulfur, which was essential for the production of gunpowder.

The peaks of the Sierra Volcánica Transversal can - depending on weather conditions and volcanic activity - in the summer, when the snow cover has melted completely or largely at mountain peaks below 5000 meters, are mounted with hiking shoes as part of one-day tours.