Recent from talks
Nevado de Toluca
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Nevado de Toluca
Nevado de Toluca (Spanish: [neˈβaðo ðe toˈluka] ⓘ) is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area around it is now a national park, which was closed indefinitely in August 2025 after an accident.
It is often called by the Nahuatl name Xinantecatl which is usually translated as The Naked Lord, Señor Desnudo in Spanish, although other etymologies have been suggested such as "Lord of the Corn Stalks" (Chinantecatl), Tzinacantepetl (Mountain of the Bats), or Tzinacantecatl (person from Zinacantepec). Further evidence regarding the etymologies of this mountain has surfaced after many archeology discoveries in and around the area. It has been concluded that its correct etymology is Chicnauhtecatl meaning "Lord of Nine", probably referring to the various deep lakes at the top of the cone.
The volcano has a 1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi) wide summit caldera which is open to the east. The highest summit, the 4,680-metre (15,354 ft) Pico del Fraile (Friar's Peak), is on the southwest side of the crater and the second highest, the 4,640-metre (15,223 ft) Pico del Aguila (Eagle's Peak), is on the northwest.
There are two crater lakes on the floor of the basin at about 4,200 m (13,800 ft), the larger Lago del Sol (Sun Lake) and the smaller, but deeper, Lago de la Luna (Moon Lake).
A road formerly ran into the caldera to the lakes, but is now gated 2 km before the lakes.[citation needed]
From the southeast, Nevado de Toluca looks flat-topped, like shoulders without a head. A Nahuatl legend (recounted as part of the legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl) provides a mythical explanation.
It is believed that Nevado de Toluca may once have been as tall as Popocatépetl, until an enormous eruption nearly 25,000 years ago blasted the top of the cone off and reduced its height by as much as 900 m (3,000 ft). The same eruption generated thick lahars, or mudflows, which coated the sides of the mountains. An eruption approximately 500 years later deposited layers of pumice on the mountain's east and northeast slopes.
The last major eruption of Nevado de Toluca occurred about 10,500 years ago (10.5 ka BP), as the volcano erupted a total estimated volume of 20 km3 for a VEI strength of 6 (comparable to the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo). The eruption emplaced 1.5 m (5 ft) of pebble-sized pumice in the City of Toluca region and ~50 cm (2 ft) of medium to fine sand in the Mexico City region. Distal lahar deposits derived from the Upper Toluca Pumice event incorporated mammoth bones and other mammals in the basin of Mexico.
Hub AI
Nevado de Toluca AI simulator
(@Nevado de Toluca_simulator)
Nevado de Toluca
Nevado de Toluca (Spanish: [neˈβaðo ðe toˈluka] ⓘ) is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area around it is now a national park, which was closed indefinitely in August 2025 after an accident.
It is often called by the Nahuatl name Xinantecatl which is usually translated as The Naked Lord, Señor Desnudo in Spanish, although other etymologies have been suggested such as "Lord of the Corn Stalks" (Chinantecatl), Tzinacantepetl (Mountain of the Bats), or Tzinacantecatl (person from Zinacantepec). Further evidence regarding the etymologies of this mountain has surfaced after many archeology discoveries in and around the area. It has been concluded that its correct etymology is Chicnauhtecatl meaning "Lord of Nine", probably referring to the various deep lakes at the top of the cone.
The volcano has a 1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi) wide summit caldera which is open to the east. The highest summit, the 4,680-metre (15,354 ft) Pico del Fraile (Friar's Peak), is on the southwest side of the crater and the second highest, the 4,640-metre (15,223 ft) Pico del Aguila (Eagle's Peak), is on the northwest.
There are two crater lakes on the floor of the basin at about 4,200 m (13,800 ft), the larger Lago del Sol (Sun Lake) and the smaller, but deeper, Lago de la Luna (Moon Lake).
A road formerly ran into the caldera to the lakes, but is now gated 2 km before the lakes.[citation needed]
From the southeast, Nevado de Toluca looks flat-topped, like shoulders without a head. A Nahuatl legend (recounted as part of the legend of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl) provides a mythical explanation.
It is believed that Nevado de Toluca may once have been as tall as Popocatépetl, until an enormous eruption nearly 25,000 years ago blasted the top of the cone off and reduced its height by as much as 900 m (3,000 ft). The same eruption generated thick lahars, or mudflows, which coated the sides of the mountains. An eruption approximately 500 years later deposited layers of pumice on the mountain's east and northeast slopes.
The last major eruption of Nevado de Toluca occurred about 10,500 years ago (10.5 ka BP), as the volcano erupted a total estimated volume of 20 km3 for a VEI strength of 6 (comparable to the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo). The eruption emplaced 1.5 m (5 ft) of pebble-sized pumice in the City of Toluca region and ~50 cm (2 ft) of medium to fine sand in the Mexico City region. Distal lahar deposits derived from the Upper Toluca Pumice event incorporated mammoth bones and other mammals in the basin of Mexico.
Recent media