Popocatépetl volcano has been partially destroyed on at least three occasions by massive flank collapse events that have produced voluminous debris avalanche deposits that extend long distances primarily to the south. This roadcut exposes an outcrop of the youngest debris avalanche deposit, which was emplaced about 23,000 years ago. The person for scale points to the edge of a large block of material from the volcano that was carried within finer-grained material.

Photo by José Macías, 1995 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

This image is made available under the Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0 license terms.

Galleries: Debris Avalanches / Landslides

Keywords: outcrop | geology | field work | volcanologist | debris avalanche deposit | deposit

Popocatépetl