Colima Mexico

The city of Colima is the capital and main city of the Mexican state and municipality of the same name.

Colima is one of the oldest cities in Mexico. Following the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521, the Spanish conquistadors were quick to reach the west coast. Colima's native king Rey Colimán organized the defense of his kingdom against the Spanish.

In 1523 the conquistador Gonzalo de Sandoval founded the first Villa de Colima in Caxitlán, near modern-day Tecomán. However, poor settlement conditions resulted in the founding of the Villa San Sebastián de Colima in what is now the city of Colima. The new location provided a better climate, lands better suited to cultivation, and proximity to mining.

The Colima Volcano is currently one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico and in North America. It has erupted more than 40 times since 1576.

Despite its name, only a fraction of the volcano's surface area is in the state of Colima; the majority of its surface area lies over the border in the neighboring state of Jalisco, toward the western end of the Eje Volcánico Transversal mountain range. It is about 485 km (301 mi) west of Mexico City and 125 km (78 mi) south of Guadalajara, Jalisco.

There are two peaks in the volcano complex: Nevado de Colima (4330 m), which is older and inactive, lies 5 kilometers north of the younger and very active 3860 metre Volcán de Colima (also called Volcán de Fuego de Colima).

Since 1869-1878, a parasitic set of domes, collectively known as El Volcancito, have formed on the northeast flank of the main cone of the volcano.