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La Malinche

Photo of this volcano
  • Mexico
  • Stratovolcano
  • 1170 BCE
  •  
  • Country
  • Primary Volcano Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  •  
  • 19.231°N
  • 98.032°W

  • 4461 m
    14636 ft

  • 341091
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

Most Recent Bulletin Report: May 1993 (BGVN 18:05) Citation IconCite this Report

Ice cap forms at summit

For the first time this century a seasonal ice cover was observed at the summit. The ice cover was seen on the N and W faces from February 1993 through the end of May. The primary source of water for Puebla is runoff from Malinche; it is not known what effect the development of an ice cap will have on the water supply. Glacial deposits have been identified on the NE flanks of the volcano. Seismicity has been monitored daily from a station at Puebla University since 1986, but no events have been detected.

Reference. von Erfa, A., 1979, Geología de la Cuenca Puebla Tlaxcala: Comunicaciones No. 5, Fundación Alemana para la Investigación Científica.

Information Contacts: Alejandro Rivera Dominguez, Dept de Ciencias de la Tierra, Univ Autonoma de Puebla, Apartado 1572, C.P. 7200, Puebla, México.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for La Malinche.

Bulletin Reports - Index

Reports are organized chronologically and indexed below by Month/Year (Publication Volume:Number), and include a one-line summary. Click on the index link or scroll down to read the reports.

05/1993 (BGVN 18:05) Ice cap forms at summit




Information is preliminary and subject to change. All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


May 1993 (BGVN 18:05) Citation IconCite this Report

Ice cap forms at summit

For the first time this century a seasonal ice cover was observed at the summit. The ice cover was seen on the N and W faces from February 1993 through the end of May. The primary source of water for Puebla is runoff from Malinche; it is not known what effect the development of an ice cap will have on the water supply. Glacial deposits have been identified on the NE flanks of the volcano. Seismicity has been monitored daily from a station at Puebla University since 1986, but no events have been detected.

Reference. von Erfa, A., 1979, Geología de la Cuenca Puebla Tlaxcala: Comunicaciones No. 5, Fundación Alemana para la Investigación Científica.

Information Contacts: Alejandro Rivera Dominguez, Dept de Ciencias de la Tierra, Univ Autonoma de Puebla, Apartado 1572, C.P. 7200, Puebla, México.

This compilation of synonyms and subsidiary features may not be comprehensive. Features are organized into four major categories: Cones, Craters, Domes, and Thermal Features. Synonyms of features appear indented below the primary name. In some cases additional feature type, elevation, or location details are provided.

Eruptive History

There is data available for 7 confirmed Holocene eruptive periods.

1170 BCE ± 50 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode
1170 BCE ± 50 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 5 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Lava dome
   - - - -    - - - - Lahar or Mudflow
   - - - -    - - - - Property Damage

5580 BCE ± 300 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode
5580 BCE ± 300 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 4 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
   - - - -    - - - - Pumice

5870 BCE ± 100 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode
5870 BCE ± 100 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Ash

6120 BCE ± 100 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode
6120 BCE ± 100 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Pumice

6310 BCE ± 75 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode
6310 BCE ± 75 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
   - - - -    - - - - Lahar or Mudflow

6710 BCE ± 200 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode
6710 BCE ± 200 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
   - - - -    - - - - Lahar or Mudflow

6890 BCE ± 500 years Confirmed Eruption  

Episode 1 | Eruption Episode
6890 BCE ± 500 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)

List of 4 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Ash
   - - - -    - - - - Blocks
Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for La Malinche.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for La Malinche.

Photo Gallery

The summit of Malinche volcano rises beyond the historical city of Puebla. Pleistocene glaciers have eroded the flanks of the volcano, but at least one of several tuff cones and explosion craters on the flanks is of Holocene age.

Photo by Ismael Morales, 1993 (Universidad Autónoma de Puebla).
Volcán la Malinche, seen here from the south, derives its name from a Mayan woman who became the wife, aide, and interpreter of the Spanish explorer Cortés. The Spanish mispronounced the woman's name Malintzin as Malinche.

Photo by Steve Nelson, 1987 (Tulane University).
Volcán la Malinche, seen here in an aerial view from the NE, is an eroded edifice with deep canyons from glacial erosion, located NE of the city of Puebla and between the Popocatépetl-Iztaccíhuatl and Orizaba-Cofre de Perote volcanic ranges. Much of the edifice was constructed during the Pleistocene but there are Holocene tephra layers of Holocene age.

Photo by Steve Nelson, 1987 (Tulane University).
The NE flank of Volcán la Malinche contains deep glacially carved canyons and the craters in the foreground are part of the Xalapaxco tuff cone complex. Xalapaxco means "vessel or container made of sand" in the Aztec Nahuatl language. The tuff cone contains ten overlapping craters influenced by changes in water and magma supply rates during the course of an eruption. The tuff cone was erupted through alluvial fan deposits consisting of reworked fluvial and glacial deposits on the lower flank of Malinche.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1998 (Smithsonian Institution).
Broad alluvial fans composed of fluvial, glacial, and volcaniclastic sediments surround La Malinche volcano. The circular volcano is dissected by radial drainages on all sides. During attempts to reconstruct the Quaternary glacial history of Mexican volcanoes a yellowish-red pumice layer that extends around Malinche volcano was dated to between about 12,100 and 7,650 years old.

Photo by Gerardo Carrasco-Núñez, 1997 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
Malinche is located between the Popocatépetl-Iztaccíhuatl and Orizaba-Cofre de Perote volcanic ranges. The edifice is largely Pleistocene in age and is seen here in an aerial view from the SE. The canyons on the flanks are a result of glacial erosion. Holocene lahars from La Malinche associated with an eruption about 3,100 years ago reached the Puebla basin and affected precolumbian settlements.

Photo by Gerardo Carrasco-Núñez, 1997 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
The summit pinnacle of La Malinche is seen here from the south. The summit consists of several lava domes, one of which filled the vent from the last major eruption of the volcano about 3,100 years ago. Note the people in the left foreground for scale.

Photo by Renato Castro, 2000 (courtesy of José Macías, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
The products of the last major eruption of La Malinche that occurred about 3,100 years ago are exposed around the summit area and consist of a weakly stratified pumiceous ash and fine lapilli layer, along with associated pyroclastic flow and lahar deposits. Lahars originating from La Malinche reached the Puebla basin and contain pottery fragments, indicating that nearby communities were affected by the eruption. The pocket knife provides scale.

Photo by Renato Castro, 2000 (courtesy of José Macías, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
Farmlands surround La Malinche volcano NE of the city of Puebla in this 1999 Landsat satellite image (N is at the top; this image is approximately 30 km across). Deep erosional gullies have formed down the flanks, and the 1.5-km-diameter late-Pleistocene Xalapasco maar complex is on the lower ENE Flank about 11 km from the summit.

NASA Landsat satellite image, 1999 (courtesy of Loren Siebert, University of Akron).
GVP Map Holdings

The maps shown below have been scanned from the GVP map archives and include the volcano on this page. Clicking on the small images will load the full 300 dpi map. Very small-scale maps (such as world maps) are not included. The maps database originated over 30 years ago, but was only recently updated and connected to our main database. We welcome users to tell us if they see incorrect information or other problems with the maps; please use the Contact GVP link at the bottom of the page to send us email.

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

There are no samples for La Malinche in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences Rock and Ore collection.

External Sites