Jocotitlán

Photo of this volcano
Country Mexico
Volcanic Region Trans-Mexican Volcanic Arc
Landform | Volc Type Composite | Stratovolcano
Last Known Eruption 1270 CE
Coordinates 19.7383°N, 99.7579°W
Elevation 3,911 m (12,831 ft)
Volcano Number 341062
Google Earth icon Google Earth Placemark with Features
Citation icon Cite Volcano Profile

Latest Weekly Volcanic Activity Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports available for Jocotitlán.

Latest Bulletin Report

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Jocotitlán.

Weekly Volcanic Activity Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Weekly Reports available for Jocotitlán.

Bulletin Reports

The Global Volcanism Program has no Bulletin Reports available for Jocotitlán.

General Information

Eruptive History

There is data available for 2 confirmed eruptive periods.

1270 ± 80 years Confirmed Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)  

Episode 1 | Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)
1270 ± 80 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)
 Block-and-ash flows and pyroclastic surges from the summit traveled down the W and S flanks around 680 ± 80 years BP (Siebe et al., 1992).

List of 3 Events for Episode 1

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

7740 BCE ± 85 years Confirmed Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)  

Episode 1 | Eruption (Explosive / Effusive)
7740 BCE ± 85 years - Unknown Evidence from Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated)
 Carbon from relict tree logs in pyroclastic deposits associated with a debris avalanche on the NE flank is dated at 9,690 ± 85 years BP. The deposit is overlain by pyroclastic surge and airfall pumice deposits (Siebe et al., 1992).

List of 5 Events for Episode 1

Start Date End Date Event Type Event Remarks
   - - - -    - - - - Explosion
   - - - -    - - - - Pyroclastic flow
   - - - -    - - - - Avalanche
   - - - -    - - - - Pumice
   - - - -    - - - - Edifice Destroyed Collapse/avalanche

Synonyms and Subfeatures

The Global Volcanism Program has no synonyms or subfeatures listed for Jocotitlán.

Photo Gallery

Thumbnail Photo (see caption)Jocotitlán rises above the Toluca basin and is seen here from the NW. This side of the edifice has a horseshoe-shaped escarpment that formed as a result of gravitational failure of the summit during the early Holocene. The conical hills of Cerro San Miguel (left) and Cerro la Cruz (center) are part of the resulting debris avalanche deposit that covers an 80 km2 area to the NE.

Photo by José Macías, 1997 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)The tree-covered hills in the foreground of this view of Jocotitlán from the NE are the steep lobate front of a massive debris avalanche deposit produced by partial collapse of the volcano. This catastrophic collapse was radiocarbon dated to about 9,690 years ago. The avalanche traveled a maximum distance of 12 km and covered an area of 80 km2. The 2.8 km3 avalanche deposit is overlain by pyroclastic surge and airfall pumice deposits that were erupted immediately following the collapse.

Photo by José Macías, 1997 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)This conical hill is among many hummocks found at the NE base of Jocotitlán volcano and represents part of the edifice that collapsed in a massive volcanic debris avalanche about 9,700 years ago. The hummocks contain abundant large blocks (1-10 m in diameter) and larger mega-blocks (10-20 m in diameter). The largest are up to 200 m high and occur within 3-5 km of the volcano along with large parallel transverse ridges up to 2.7 km long. The size and height decrease towards the margins of the deposit.

Photo by José Macías, 1997 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
Thumbnail Photo (see caption)The tree-covered hills in the foreground and center of this view from the summit of Jocotitlán volcano were formed during a massive debris avalanche produced by collapse of the volcano about 9,700 years ago. The debris avalanche deposit includes several conical hummocks (such as those to the lower left) and large transverse ridges up to 2.7 km long. The avalanche traveled a maximum distance of 12 km to the NE and covered an area of 80 km2.

Photo by Hugo Delgado-Granados, (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

Smithsonian Sample Collections Database

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

External Sites