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The valley of Mexico lies, then, surrounded by various chains, which are: to the north the Sierra de Pitos and its branches, of which one is the Sierra de Guadalupe; to the east the Sierra de Zinguilacan, which ends in an extensive ridge, channeled by deep furrows, which connect the Sierra mentioned with the Sierra Nevada. By means of mountains and ridges forming the Sierra de Xuchitepec, to the southeast of the valley, the Sierra Nevada is connected with that of Ajusco, which is connected to the southwest with that of Las Cruces, which, extending to the northwest, forms the Cordillera de Monte Alto, which is connected, as already stated, with the western arm of the Sierra de los Pitos.

In all these chains there are heights of importance such as; in the Sierra Nevada, Popocatepetl, lovely volcano, and Ixtaccihuatl, merely a snow-cap.... Popocatepetl—smoking mountain—is the highest mountain in Mexican territory and measures 5452 m. above sea-level. The ascent of this colossus is full of discomforts, but when these have been endured, the result is surprising.

The most suitable road for the ascent is the one which goes from Amecameca to the ranch of Tlamacas, which is situated at 3897 m. altitude and almost at the limit of tree growth; the trees there met with are stunted; the day temperature is 8°, and at night 0 C., in summer. In winter these temperatures are more extreme.

Until one thousand metres beyond the ranch some firs are seen, which are the last; to these follows a soil covered with a dark sand, very fine and slippery, over which the horses can scarcely make their way. Here and there upon this sandy zone are tufts of dry grass. These gradually disappear, until, finally, there remains no sign of vegetation. A little later snow begins, at a place called La Cruz, to which a great wooden cross, reared upon a heap of rocks, gives name. At this point, the line of perpetual snow is found, at 4300 m., little more or less, above sea-level.

From here the ascent is made on foot, and ever over the snow. The trail zigzags, because the slope is 24° or 25°, becoming more abrupt, until reaching 30° and 34°, at times. The walking is, naturally, very difficult.

When some hundred metres have been traversed, great difficulty in breathing begins to be experienced, the lungs feel oppressed, and every step, every movement of the body, causes great fatigue and compels the stopping to take breath. Feeble constitutions cannot endure the weariness and illness which are experienced. The reflection of the sun upon the snow is intense, for which reason the wearing of dark glasses is necessary. The face should also be veiled, to prevent the vertigo, which the white sheet surrounding the traveler produces toward the middle of the journey; when the day is fine and the atmosphere clear, the panorama is incomparably beautiful. The city of Puebla is clearly seen, and, at a greater distance the peak of Orizaba and the Cofre of Perote. There may also be seen, with all clearness, the summit of Ixtaccihuatl, totally without a crater. After some four hours of travel, the end of the journey, the summit of the volcano is reached; the last steps are particularly difficult, because the slope is now 40° and the rarity of the air is greater; progress is difficult.

From the point where the crater is reached it is not easy to take full cognizance of its depth, though the general form may be appreciated. This is elliptical; the major diameter measures some fifty metres more than the other. A crest of rock, of varying elevation, forms the edge, which makes it very irregular; it is very narrow; a simple step leads from the outer, to the inner, slope. This edge presents two heights—one is the Espinazo del Diablo (Devil’s Backbone), the other is the Pico Mayor (Greater peak), which is, as its name indicates, the highest point of the volcano, being 150 m. higher than the Espinazo. The Pico Mayor is almost inaccessible, but its summit may, with difficulty, be reached.

The major diameter of the crater corresponds to the two summits named, has some 850 m. length, and its direction is from south 20° west to north 20° east. The transverse diameter may be estimated at 750 m., which would give the crater a circumference of 2,500 m. In descending from the border, the crater presents three distinct parts; a slope of 65°, a vertical wall seventy metres in height, and another slope, which extends to the bottom. In total, the mean depth of this imposing abyss will reach 250 m. to 300 m.

At the place, where the vertical wall begins and the first slope ends, there has been set up a sort of a windlass, below which an enormous beam slopes downward toward the abyss; by this beam, and lowered by a cord, the workmen who extract sulphur descend.

In the bottom of the crater are four fumaroles, whence vapors escape, which in issuing produce slight hissing sounds. Abundant deposits of sulphur exist near these. Besides the fumaroles mentioned, there are seven points at the borders of the crater, where gases escape, though in less abundance; six of these points lie to the east of the major diameter, and the seventh on the opposite side. All are inaccessible.

The interior of the crater is formed by sheets, which form a regular wall with vertical sides. In some places these layers are profoundly shattered and there various species of rocks, of notably different natures are seen; first, below, are sheets of trachyte, very compact and rich in crystals of striated feldspar and partly decomposed amphibole; above these more or less regular trachytic layers are beds of well-characterized basalt—also very compact and rich in peridote; lastly, above these layers are porous scoriæ, of dark purple color, which indicates the presence of a considerable quantity of iron oxide. These scoriæ must have originated from the fusion of the porphyritic rocks.

Every little while, at the summit, rage violent storms of snow, which falls in thick sheets; at such times the atmospheric clouds do not permit objects to be seen at a metre’s distance and the temperature falls to 20° and 22° below 0 C.

The exploitation of the sulphur is insignificant since only some forty-eight or fifty tons are taken out, in a year; this sulphur is distilled at the ranch of Tlamacas; it is sold in Mexico and Puebla at the same price as that of Sicily—that of Popocatepetl being superior in quality. The snow, too, on the side of Ozumba, is exploited, but this exploitation is on the smallest scale.

Various expeditions have been organized for the ascent of Popocatepetl, some scientific in nature, others for amusement. The first was made in 1519 by Diego de Ordaz, one of the soldiers of Cortes; others followed. In our own day, such expeditions are frequent and their results happily verify each other.

Ixtaccihuatl,—“white woman”—connected to Popocatepetl by a ridge of graceful outline, rises to 5,288 m. altitude above sea-level. Down the slopes of this mountain, several torrents, derived from the melting snows, pour and form cascades and falls up to forty-five metres in height. These same slopes, covered by a sheet of astonishingly rich and luxuriant vegetation are gashed by deep crevices, in which are enormous masses of porphyritic and basaltic rocks. Conifers form dense forests up to 3,000 m. altitude; from there the vigor of arborescent vegetation diminishes and at 4,000 m. it completely ceases; from that point on there are only stretches of brambles, which completely disappear at about 4,200 m.; then follow the sands, and, lastly, the perpetual snows, which begin at 4,300 m.

The crest, which is very grand and beautiful, resembles in the arrangement of its rock masses, the form of a woman’s body, stretched at length upon its back, and covered by a white winding sheet. From this, the name of white woman,—izta, white; cihuatl, woman—with which this lovely mountain was baptized by the dreamy imagination of the Aztecs.