William and Mary Won't Do
Guadalajara is located in the Atemajac Valley, Jalisco, Mexico, an area of great volcanic activity in yesteryear. The city itself is surrounded by many cinder cones and composite volcanoes, the last eruption being ~ 30,000 years ago. Colima Volcano, about 75 miles south of Guadalajara is the most active volcano in Mexico today. The name of Guadalajara is derived from the Moorish Arabic via Spain, meaning Valley of the Stones. These eruptions ejected vast amounts of pumice, volcanic ash and dust. Over hundreds of thousands of years this debris was washed into silt beds where it joined similar older eroded debris and became what is now known as Cantera stone. The properties of Cantera stone allow for detailed cutting and carving. As such, cathedrals, haciendas and many other buildings have stood for centuries around Guadalajara. Now days Cantera is used in new construction, shopping malls and nice hotels. In the picture above, a wall of of an old cathedral, you can see the pieces of pum
