Volcano, Puebla state, southeast-central Mexico, west of the city of Puebla .
The perpetually snowcapped, symmetrical cone reaches 17,930 ft (5,465 m). The first Spanish ascent is thought to have been made in 1519. After being inactive for more than 50 years, Popocatépetl erupted in 1994, with frequent recurrences in the years that followed.