The small Xitle scoria cone in the center of the photo is directly below Volcán Ajusco, the large lava-dome complex on the horizon, and was the source of a voluminous lava flow about 1,670 years ago. The 3.2 km³ flow traveled 13 km north and underlies much of the forested area in the middle of the photo as well as the southern part of Mexico City in the foreground. The flow covered the Preclassic city of Cuicuilco, one of the oldest archaeological sites in central México, and underlies the campus of the National University of México (UNAM).

Photo by José Macías, 1996 (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

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

Keywords: scoria cone | volcanic field

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