Chichonal was discovered as a volcano in 1923, it is an active stratified volcano that is located in the mountainous region that borders the municipalities of Pichucalco, Francisco León and Chapultenango, in the northwest of the Mexican State of Chiapas, about 25 km from Pichucalco (Chiapas), and 85 km from both Villahermosa and San Cristóbal de las Casas, El Chichonal had not been studied as a volcano, but only as a potential source of geothermal energy.