Sierra de los Tuxtlas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sierra de Los Tuxtlas are a range of volcanic mountains lining the Gulf of Mexico coast of the southeastern part of the state of Veracruz in southcentral Mexico.
Peaks in this range include Volcano Santa Marta and Volcano San Martín, both rising above 1700 meters. San Martín is the only recently active of these volcanoes, erupting in 1664 and again in May 1793. It is a broad alkaline shield volcano with a one kilometer wide summit. Hundreds of smaller cinder cones are prevalent throughout the Sierra. Other extinct volcanoes include San Martin Pajapan (1,160 meters) and Cerro El Vigia (800 meters).
The Sierra de Los Tuxtlas volcanoes are an insular anomaly. The volcanoes are separated from the nearest volcano in the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt to the west by about 150 miles, and from the Central American Volcanic Belt to the southeast by almost 200 miles.
[edit] Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve
The upper flanks of the volcanoes San Martin and Santa Marta are covered with a Neotropical rainforest, while the lower portions are covered with stunted pastures, and much of the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas are in the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve.
