(RNN) – The Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico is erupting, sending ash skyward and hot rocks down the sides of the mountain on Wednesday.
The activity is taking place a week after a magnitude 7.1 quake that killed more than 300 people in Mexico. A Mexican official told Reuters that the quake's epicenter was just a few miles from the mountain, and probably helped trigger the activity.
The latest eruption sent ash into a nearby village. Officials said there was no immediate threat from the volcano that has been erupting off and on for the past 23 years.
The volcano’s summit is 17,802 feet high, making it North America’s second-highest volcano, according to volcanodiscovery.com.
Mt. Popocatepetl is located 45 miles southeast of Mexico City. During the past two years it has steadily produced a column of steam which rises from its summit crater, Oregon State’s Volcano World site says.
The volcano is one of Mexico’s most active. More than 20 million Mexicans live close enough to the site to be affected by eruptions, Volcano World said.
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