earth science

Pico de Tancítaro

Pico de Tancítaro is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pico de Tancítaro rather than just read about it. In short: Pico de Tancítaro, also known as Volcán Tancítaro, is a volcanic mountain in Mexico. It is located in Tancítaro municipality in Michoacán state.

Key takeaways

Pico de Tancítaro belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pico de Tancítaro to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pico de Tancítaro from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pico de Tancítaro, also known as Volcán Tancítaro, is a volcanic mountain in Mexico. It is located in Tancítaro municipality in Michoacán state. It is the highest peak in Michoacán.

Geology Pico de Tancítaro is an andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano. It was active from 800,000 to 237,000 years ago, and is currently believed to be extinct. It is part of the much larger Michoacán–Guanajuato volcanic field. Portions of the volcanic field are still active. Parícutin is a young volcano located 11 km northeast of Pico de Tancítaro. It first erupted in 1943 and remained active and grew in size until 1952.

Ecology Plant communities on the mountain include pine-oak forest, open pine forest, and montane mesophyll or cloud forest, with alpine grasslands, known as Zacatonal, at higher elevations. Pine-oak forest is the predominant plant community from the base of the mountain to 3450 meters elevation. Common pine species include Pinus pseudostrobus, Pinus montezumae, Pinus devoniana, and Pinus teocote, with Pinus gordoniana and Pinus maximinoi less common. Oaks, including Quercus crassipes, Quercus laurina, and Quercus rugosa, occur between 2100 and 2800 meters elevation, either dominant or co-dominant with pines. The broadleaf trees and shrubs Alnus acuminata, Arbutus xalapensis, Berberis moranensis, Ageratina mairetiana, and Lippia umbellata are also found among the oaks and pines. Forests of oyamel fir (Abies religiosa) occur in well-watered areas between 2450 and 3400 meters elevation, in pure stands or mixed with pines and oaks. Pinus hartwegii becomes dominant around 3400 meters elevation. Mountain mesophilic forest, or cloud forest, is found on slopes between 2000 and 2600 meters elevation with high year-round humidity and frequent fog, particularly in ravines which offer year-round water and protection from drying winds and sun. Typical trees include Quercus calophylla, Carpinus tropicalis, Alnus acuminata, Crataegus mexicana, and species of Meliosma, Symplocos, Prunus, Cinnamomum, Styrax, Tilia, Viburnum, and Xylosma. Creepers and lianas include species of Archibaccharis, Celastrus, Philadelphus, Smilax, and Vitis. epiphytes are abundant, including ferns, orchids, bromeliads, and species of Piperaceae and Crassulaceae. Subalpine grasslands, known as Zacatonal or zacatal, occur as low as 3000 meters elevation on outcrops of volcanic sandstone, and become predominant above 3400 meters elevation. Woodlands of Juniperus monticola with a subalpine grassland understory are common around 3500 meters elevation. Typical grasses are Muhlenbergia cenchroides, Bouteloua purpurea, Bromus exaltatus, Festuca amplissima, Festuca breviglumis, Muhlenbergia macroura, Poa annua, Piptochaetium sp., Peyritschia virletii, and Zeugites americanus. Herbs and shrubs include species of Arenaria, Carex, Cerastium, Cirsium, Draba, Eryngium, Gnaphalium, Juniperus, Luzula, Phacelia, Plantago, Potentilla, Ranunculus, Senecio, and Trisetum. The mountain is home to about 207 species of animals, including Cooper's hawk (Astur cooperii), Brown-backed solitaire (Myadestes occidentalis), blunt-headed salamander (Ambystoma amblycephalum), Pátzcuaro peeping frog (Eleutherodactylus angustidigitorum), Montezuma leopard frog (Lithobates montezumae), mud turtles (Kinosternon sp.), Popocatepetl alligator lizard (Barisia imbricata), and Baird's patchnose snake (Salvadora bairdi), among others.

Pico de Tancítaro Flora and Fauna Protection Area Pico de Tancítaro Flora and Fauna Protection Area covers 23,405 ha, ranging from 2,200 to 3,840 meters in elevation. The area was designated a national park on 27 July 1940, and redesignated a flora and fauna protection area on 19 August 2009. It is still widely known as Pico de Tancítaro National Park. The protected area includes both Pico de Tancítaro and Parícutin.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pico de Tancítaro

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pico de Tancítaro claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pico de Tancítaro before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pico de Tancítaro ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pico de Tancítaro

In research: Pico de Tancítaro appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pico de Tancítaro in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pico de Tancítaro is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Flora and fauna protection areas of Mexico, Important Bird Areas of Mexico, Landforms of Michoacán, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pico de Tancítaro outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Pico de Tancítaro” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Pico de Tancítaro in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pico de Tancítaro means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pico de Tancítaro out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pico de Tancítaro in simple terms?

Pico de Tancítaro, also known as Volcán Tancítaro, is a volcanic mountain in Mexico. It is located in Tancítaro municipality in Michoacán state.

Why does Pico de Tancítaro matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pico de Tancítaro?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pico de Tancítaro.