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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS006-E-28546 Date: Feb. 2003
Geographic Region: MEXICO
Feature: IZTACCIHUATL, POPOCATAPETL

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  View Low-Resolution Image  
  Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl Volcanoes, Mexico

As part of the circum-Pacific "Ring of Fire," Mexico hosts several of the world's most continually active volcanoes, including the massive Popocatepetl (Aztec for "smoking mountain.") This detailed, oblique astronaut photograph also depicts a neighboring volcano, Iztaccihuatl (the "Woman in White.") With North to the right in the scene, the view is a westward-looking perspective.

The faint plume emanating from Popocatepetl's 250- to 450-meter-deep summit crater attests to the significant, ever-present hazard the volcano represents to the 25 million people living in the region, including the nearby city of Amecameca, as well as the metropolitan centers of Mexico City to the northwest and Puebla to the east.

Popocatepetl has produced small, intermittent eruptions since 1994. In addition to the constant danger of eruptions producing ash deposits, pyroclastic flows, and lava (see an earlier astronaut photograph of Popocatepetl erupting), the summit of Popocatepetl also hosts glaciers. These can melt during eruptions to form dangerous mudflows that blanket areas to the south.

In contrast to Popocatepetl's well-defined symmetrical cone, Iztaccihuatl is formed from several overlapping smaller cones that trend north-northwest to south-southeast. Glaciers and year-round snow are also present on Iztaccihuatl (white regions along the peaks). Deep valleys have been eroded into the massive apron of ash and pumice deposits, glacial outwash, and alluvium to the east of the volcano. Despite its close proximity, similar age, and similar geologic character to Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl has not erupted in historic times. This has encouraged the establishment of numerous agricultural fields (visible as faint rectilinear patterns in the lower half of the image) on the eastern flank of the mountain.

 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 233k
Mission: ISS006  
Roll - Frame: E - 28546
Geographical Name: MEXICO  
Features: IZTACCIHUATL, POPOCATAPETL  
Center Lat x Lon: 19.1N x 98.6W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: E4
 
Camera Tilt: 38   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 800  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: SW   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 220  
 
Date: 20030216   YYYYMMDD
Time: 153619   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 21.3N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 96.8W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 122   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 215   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 34   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: CRATER, MOUNTAIN, VOLCANO  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views: PLUME  
Man Made Views:  
City Views: MEXICO CITY, PUEBLA  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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