The volcano Iztaccíhuatl balances gracefully between earth and sky, as photographed from the north slope of its partner volcano Popocatépetl.
According to the ancient beliefs of the indigenous people's pre-Hispanic heritage, a volcano could be a god, a mountain, and a human all at the same time. Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl together were seen as a fertile couple that gave the gift of life.
(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Popocatépetl: Mexico’s Smoking Mountain," January 1999, National Geographic magazine)
