Category: Volcanoes

Stargazing from the Summit of Sierra Negra

The summit of Sierra Negra is a special place. It is an extinct volcano with bragging rights as the fifth-highest peak in Mexico. Its prominence is just 1,770 feet (540 m), but its location in the higher altitude neighborhood of Pico de Orizaba, the summit of Sierra Negra reaches a maximum of 15,030 feet (4,580 …

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Popocatépetl – Central Mexico’s Smoking Mountain

About two hours outside of Mexico City, in the state of Puebla, towers Popocatépetl, the second-highest peak in Mexico at an elevation of 17,880 feet (5,450 m). Popocatépetl, a volcano locally known as “el Popo,” spends part of the year with a snow-covered peak. With more than 25 million people living within a 62-mile (100 …

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Walking Mount Tabor, Oregon’s Cinder Cone in the City

What to do when you’re in one of the best states for exploring mountains, new at climbing, and tethered to the city of Portland during your summer vacation? Walk Portland, Oregon’s dormant volcano, Mount Tabor! This is exactly what I did this summer. One sunny day in August, my daughter, brother-in-law, niece, and I took …

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Pico de Orizaba, a.k.a. Citlaltépetl: The Heights of Sorrow and Joy

At the top of the list of the world’s most prominent dormant volcanoes, after Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro is Mexico’s Pico de Orizaba, known by its Nahuatl name as Citlaltépetl, meaning “Mountain of the Star.” With a prominence of 16,148 feet (4,922 m) and an elevation estimated at 18,491 feet (5,636 m), Pico de Orizaba is the …

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