Monday December 10 11:48 PM ET

Mexican Volcano Stirs, Spewing Hot Rocks
Skyward

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano tossed red-hot
rocks skyward on Monday evening but authorities said there was no threat to
surrounding villages.

Television showed a series of moderate explosions and experts said the most
powerful threw burning rocks up to a half-mile above the crater, which stands
at 17,884 feet.

Carlos Valdes, a spokesman for the National Center for the Prevention of
Disasters, said a small dome formed inside the crater last month, creating
pressure.

``These domes can form a blockage and the volcano continues trying to throw
out gases. Finally, you get to a situation in which the dome is fractured and
burning material is thrown out,'' he said.

In December last year, Popocatepetl exploded with a series of powerful
eruptions that forced the evacuation of more than 40,000 people.

Popocatepetl (pronounced poh-poh-kah-TEH-peh-til), which means ``smoking
mountain'' in the indigenous Nahuatl tongue, lies about 40 miles from Mexico
City.