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Serdán-Oriental

Photo of this volcano
  • Mexico
  • Volcanic field
  • Unknown - Evidence Credible
  •  
  • Country
  • Primary Volcano Type
  • Last Known Eruption
  •  
  • 19.27°N
  • 97.47°W

  • 3485 m
    11434 ft

  • 341092
  • Latitude
  • Longitude

  • Summit
    Elevation

  • Volcano
    Number

The Global Volcanism Program has no activity reports for Serdán-Oriental.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Serdán-Oriental.

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Serdán-Oriental.

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

The Global Volcanism Program is not aware of any Holocene eruptions from Serdán-Oriental. If this volcano has had large eruptions (VEI >= 4) prior to 10,000 years ago, information might be found on the Serdán-Oriental page in the LaMEVE (Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruptions) database, a part of the Volcano Global Risk Identification and Analysis Project (VOGRIPA).

Deformation History

There is no Deformation History data available for Serdán-Oriental.

Emission History

There is no Emissions History data available for Serdán-Oriental.

Photo Gallery

The NW-most dome of the two Las Derrumbadas lava domes, seen here from the NE along the highway to Perote, has undergone extensive hydrothermal alteration. Fumaroles on the domes remain active. The eroded hillside near the center is the outer flank of the San Luis Atexcac tuff ring, which contains a crater lake.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).
The most prominent features of the Serdán-Oriental volcanic field are the two Las Derrumbadas lava domes. The NW (left) and SE (right) domes are of similar height and lithology and rise about 1 km above their bases. The Serdán-Oriental is a broad closed basin at the eastern end of the Mexican altiplano containing lava domes, tuff rings, lava flows, and scoria cones of late-Pleistocene to Holocene age. Several of the tuff rings, such as Laguna Atexcac and Laguna Alchichica, contain crater lakes.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1997 (Smithsonian Institution).
The NW-most of the two Las Derrumbadas lava domes is surrounded by hummocky debris avalanche deposits such as those in the foreground, that were produced by repeated collapse of the domes. The hummocks contain mixtures of rock types, including pyroclastic surge deposits, Cretaceous limestones, lacustrine sediments, and banded obsidians. These are thought to have originated from a former tuff ring that surrounded the lava domes.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1997 (Smithsonian Institution).
Cerro Pinto on the NE horizon is a lava dome that formed within a tuff cone. Cerro Pinto is one of several large lava domes within the enclosed Serdán-Oriental basin. The hills in the foreground are hummocks of a debris avalanche deposit produced by collapse of Las Derrumbadas lava domes.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1997 (Smithsonian Institution).
The Cerro Pinto lava dome is seen here from the rim of Laguna San Luis Atexcac maar, just south of Highway 140. The dome grew within a cone with a crater about 2 km wide. The crater overlaps with that of the Cerro Xalapasco cone to the north.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1998 (Smithsonian Institution).
A roadcut through the eastern rim of the Cerro Xalapasco tuff cone exposes pyroclastic-surge deposits. The road provides access to a quarry where perlite (hydrated obsidian) is mined. Cofre de Perote volcano rises on the distant horizon across the Serdán-Oriental basin.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1998 (Smithsonian Institution).
The Laguna Alchichicha maar is filled by the largest lake in the Serdán-Oriental basin. The rim of the basaltic to basaltic-andesitic maar varies in height and is highest on the western side. The western crater wall exposes a scoria cone that was partially destroyed by the maar-forming eruption. White tufa deposits line the shore of the lake.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1997 (Smithsonian Institution).
The Las Derrumbadas lava domes rise above the rim of the San Luis Atexcac maar. The two rhyolite lava domes rise about 1 km above their bases. The NW dome (right) consists of a microcrystalline rhyolite that has been extensively altered by fumarolic activity. The SE dome (left) is of similar lithology. The carapace of both domes has been removed by a series of slope failures. The San Luis Atexcac maar in the foreground erupted through Cretaceous limestones and Tertiary monzonites and hornfels.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1998 (Smithsonian Institution).
The Laguna Alchichicha maar is the largest of the Serdán-Oriental volcanic field, located just off Highway 140 between Puebla and Jalapa. The low rim of the maar increases in height to the west. The pyroclastic surge deposits contain juvenile fragments of scoriaceous basaltic or basaltic-andesite material. Tufa deposits such as those in the foreground are located along the shore of the lake. Cerro Pizarro in the distance is the northernmost lava dome of the Serdán-Oriental field.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1997 (Smithsonian Institution).
The Atexcac maar is one of several lake-filled maars of the Serdán-Oriental volcanic field. The walls expose pyroclastic surge beds produced during formation of the maar. Cretaceous limestone beds and remnants of a basaltic scoria cone partially destroyed during formation of the maar are also exposed in the western crater walls. Abundant juvenile obsidian clasts are found in the surge deposits.

Photo by Hugo Delgado-Granados, 1997 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
The SE-most of the two Las Derrumbadas lava domes is seen here from the SE. The extensively altered dome is surrounded by debris avalanche deposits. The more recent avalanche deposits consist almost entirely of microcrystalline rhyolite from the core of the dome. They left horseshoe-shaped collapse scarps such as the one visible to the upper right. These scarps reveal areas of intense alteration to kaolinite produced by prolonged fumarolic activity.

Photo by Hugo Delgado-Granados, 1995 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
The Cerro Pinto rhyolite lava dome (right) rises 700 m above the Serdán-Oriental basin floor in this view looking ENE. The flat ridge to its left is the rim of the 2-km-wide Cerro Xalapasco, which contains multiple craters.

Photo by Gerardo Carrasco-Núñez, 2002 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
The summit of the Cerro Pinto lava dome on the western side of the Serdán-Oriental basin provides an overview of the crater floor of Cerro Xalapasco tuff cone in the foreground. Pyroclastic surge deposits associated with Cerro Xalapasco were emplaced in a relatively dry eruptive environment. The peak to the far right is Cerro Pizarro, a lava dome at the northern end of the Serdán-Oriental. The flat ridge stretching across the horizon to the north is Los Humeros caldera.

Photo by Gerardo Carrasco-Núñez, 2002 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
The pyroclastic surge deposits in the foreground are exposed in front of Cerro Pinto lava dome. The dome has a glassy and pumiceous outer layer partly overlain by pyroclastic surge deposits and blocks of local bedrock.

Photo by Gerardo Carrasco-Núñez, 2002 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
Glacial erosion has modified the summit of Cofre de Perote volcano. Summit lava flows show glacial striations, and a glacial tarn (left) is SW of the summit. Cofre de Perote overlooks the intermontaine Serdán-Oriental basin, which contains lava domes, tuff rings, lava flows, and scoria cones. The two Las Derrumbadas lava domes are in the distance and Cerro Pinto dome to their right are about 40 km SW.

Photo by Lee Siebert, 1999 (Smithsonian Institution).
The fresh-looking lava flows at the top of the image were erupted from Los Humeros caldera (just out of view to the north). The basaltic and andesitic lava flows extend up to about 15 km from the caldera rim. The flows have not been dated precisely, but are younger than 20,000 years and could in part be of Holocene age. The Tepeyahualco (left) and Limón (right) lava flows bracket circular 3100-m-high Cerro Pizarro lava dome (right center), the northernmost feature of the Serdán-Oriental volcanic field.

NASA Landsat satellite image, 1999 (courtesy of Loren Siebert, University of Akron).
This view of the Serdán-Oriental basin covers about 38 km in a N-S (vertical) direction. The circular peak at the upper center, partially surrounded by young lava flows from Los Humeros caldera, is Cerro Pizarro lava dome. The lake-filled maar to the SSE across the light-colored dry lake basin is Alchichica maar. The erosionally ribbed flanks of Cerro Xalapaxco tuff cone and Cerro Pinto lava dome lie to the SW, and the large forested peaks at the bottom are the the twin Las Derrumbadas lava domes.

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

The following 4 samples associated with this volcano can be found in the Smithsonian's NMNH Department of Mineral Sciences collections, and may be availble for research (contact the Rock and Ore Collections Manager). Catalog number links will open a window with more information.

Catalog Number Sample Description Lava Source Collection Date
NMNH 117450-19 Obsidian Derrumbadas, Las --
NMNH 117450-21 Obsidian Derrumbadas, Las --
NMNH 117551-106 Obsidian Derrumbadas, Las --
NMNH 117551-107 Obsidian Derrumbadas, Las --
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