Iztaccíhuatl

I was very happy today to find out the name of the mountain I photographed yesterday. Joy, a Texan blogs here from DF, also took a picture of the mountains yesterday, and she was able to answer my question about the name of the mountain I took the photo of.

It turns out I took a picture of one of the four peaks of Iztaccíhuatl. Wikipedia has a lot of good info about it ...

"The mountain has four peaks, the highest of which is 5,230 m (17,159 ft) above sea level. Together, the peaks are seen as depicting the head, chest, knees and feet of a sleeping female figure, which is visible from either the east or the west. Iztaccíhuatl is a mere 70 km (44 mi) to the southeast of Mexico City and is often visible from the capital, depending on atmospheric conditions.

While the first recorded ascent was made in 1889, archaeological evidence suggests that the Aztecs and previous cultures also climbed the mountain.

This is the lowest peak that contains permanent snow and glaciers in Mexico.

Iztaccíhuatl lies to the north of Popocatépetl, and is connected to it by the high pass called the Paso de Cortés.

...

In Aztec mythology, Iztaccíhuatl was a princess who fell in love with Popocatépetl, one of her father's warriors. The king sent Popocatépetl to war in Oaxaca, promising him Iztaccíhuatl as his wife when he would return (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he would not). Iztaccíhuatl was falsely told Popocatépetl had died in battle, and believing the news, she died of grief. When Popocatépetl returned to find his love dead, he kneeled by her grave. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain is called "White Woman" because it resembles a woman sleeping on her back, and is often covered with snow. (The peak is sometimes nicknamed La Mujer Dormida ("The Sleeping Woman").) He became the volcano Popocatépetl, raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved."

Apparently, it has not erupted in nearly 12,000 years.

We certainly don't have these in Chicago.