Sierra Negra (also, and perhaps more properly, Cerro La Negra) is an extinct volcano located in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

, close to the border with

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. At officially above sea level, it is the fifth-highest peak in Mexico. Sierra Negra is overshadowed by nearby

Pico de Orizaba Citlaltépetl (from Nahuan languages, Náhuatl = star, and = mountain), otherwise known as Pico de Orizaba, is an active volcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and Table of the highest major summits of North America, third highest in North Ame ...

(5,610 m/18,406 ft).

Overview

Sierra Negra is located within the Pico de Orizaba National Park. The mountain is the site for two of the world's premier astronomical instruments, the

Large Millimeter Telescope The Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) (, or GTM), officially the Large Millimeter Telescope Alfonso Serrano (), is the world's largest single-aperture telescope in its frequency range, built for observing radio waves in the wave lengths from app ...

and the

High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Experiment or High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (also known as HAWC) is a gamma-ray and cosmic ray observatory located on the flanks of the Sierra Negra volcano in the Mexican state of Puebla at an alti ...

. Therefore, the access to the mountain is restricted and has to be applied for at least a week in advance. The service road for this facility is claimed to be the highest road in North America. A part of the telescope facility is visible as a white dot in the first picture below and more clearly in the second picture. The

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

word ''sierra'' is usually applied to

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

s or

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

s. However, a few mountains were given the name ''sierra'' after the

Conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

, like ''Sierra de Tlaxcala'' or ''Sierra de Tolocan'' (now outdated names for

Malinche Marina () or Malintzin (; 1500 – 1529), more popularly known as La Malinche (), was a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, who became known for contributing to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519–1521), by acting as an inte ...

and

Nevado de Toluca Nevado de Toluca () is a stratovolcano in central Mexico, located about west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. It is the fourth highest of Mexico's peaks, after Pico de Orizaba, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. The volcano and the area ...

, respectively). As listed by the Mexican geographical institute

INEGI The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI from its former name in ) is an autonomous agency of the Government of Mexico, Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Statistical and Geographical Information ...

, the official name for the Sierra Negra ("Black Mountains") is Cerro La Negra ("Black Lady Hill"), although the latter is largely unused in common speech. The

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

names Tliltépetl ("Black Mountain") or Atlitzin ("Our Lord (or Lady) of the Waters") are sometimes attached. Speakers of

Orizaba Nahuatl Orizaba Nahuatl is a native American language spoken in the southeastern Mexican state of Veracruz mostly in the area to the south of the city of Orizaba.

References

External links

*
The Large Millimeter Telescope

Peakbagger.com: Sierra Negra
* (includes Sierra Negra) * (in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Negra Landforms of Puebla Geography of Puebla Mountains of Mexico Stratovolcanoes of Mexico Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt North American 4000 m summits Volcanoes of Puebla