Preliminary evaluation of the volcanic Hazard in the southern Valley of Mexico

Abstract

Mexico City is located in the middle of an active volcanic field in the graben of the Valley of Mexico. Apart from the historical activity of the large stratovolcano Popocatepetl, the last activity of this volcanic field was from the monogenic volcano Xitle. This eruption ocurred in the year 2500 B.C. In this article, the eruption rate for the volcanic field of the southern Valley of Mexico was calculated by several different methods. The mean eruption rate eas found to be 10 -3 eruption/year. The highest probability of volcanic eruption in the southern Valley of Mexico lies in an E-W band througth the Sierra de Chichinautzin. For safety, the growth of the metropolitan area of Mexico City should be away from the Sierra de Chichinautzin.