As the year is on its war to wrapping up with the memories of all the cataclysms it tolerated, giant Popocatepetl volcano of Mexico, threw up an ash column to catapult the incident to the list of the volcanic eruptions it occurred this year. The giant can be seen from Mexico City, 40 miles away on clear days. And it is a home to some 18 million people! The ash column rose to almost 2 miles high and spat glowing rocks down its snow-clad slopes Sunday. But, officials reported that the nearby towns were not affected.
“Smoking Mountain” – that is what the word Popocatepetl mean in the Nahuatl Indian language, spoken by the Aztecs. It spewed out the huge plume of ash and rocks in a three-minute exhalation, though no reports of ash fall have been received. In a recent series of disturbances which started Dec. 1, the Sunday’s activity was the latest, with the 17,887 foot volcano showering ash on the nearby town of Amecameca. After decades of inactivity, the Popocatepetl reawakened in 1994.
Via: Environmental News Network