Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl, is an active volcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and third highest in North America, after Denali of United States and Mount Logan of Canada. Pico de Orizaba is also the highest volcano in North America. It rises 5,636 metres (18,491 ft) above sea level in the eastern end of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, on the border between the states of Veracruz and Puebla. The volcano is currently dormant but not extinct, with the last eruption taking place during the 19th century. It is the second most prominent volcanic peak in the world after Mount Kilimanjaro. Pico de Orizaba is ranked 16th by topographic isolation.
Pico de Orizaba
Pico de Orizaba looking south from atop Cofre de Perote
Southeast of Citlaltépetl
Northwest of Citlaltépetl
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the Sierra Nevada, is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks have snow all year long, and during clear weather, they are visible to a large percentage of those who live on the many high plateaus from which these volcanoes rise.
Six Mexican Volcanoes Left to right Iztaccíhuatl, Popocatépetl, Matlalcueitl (Malinche), Nauhcampatépetl (Cofre de Perote, most distant), Citlaltépetl (Pico de Orizaba), Sierra Negra
Image: Eje Neovolcánico Mexico
Pico de Orizaba
Volcanic Evolution and changes in composition over time. 1) Early to Late Miocene the belt the Cocos and Rivera plate begin subduction beneath Central Mexico. 2) Late Miocene to Early Pliocene the slab tear begins to propagate West to East across the back northern area of the belt, allowing Asthenospheric heat in to generate the Mafic episode. 3)Latest Miocene - Early Pliocene was the onset of more silic volcanics generated by Flat Slab Subduction which pushed the belt further inland to the north.
