You’ve probably heard the legend before. Somewhere around the year 1322, the people of the coastal settlement of Aztlán were ordered by their god Huitzilopochtli to leave home and wander westward until they came across an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, devouring a snake. Where they found it, they would create the largest empire Mesoamerica had ever known.
But how did Mexico City come to be built on a lake, and why is it so...
not wet today? Worn and weary, the tribe eventually stumbled upon the Valley of Mexico. Lo and behold, there it was! The eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, devouring a snake. Sitting atop a small island in the middle of a giant, shimmering lake.
The lake was guarded by a string of mountains and volcanoes, including Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. The pilgrims were thrilled. It only took 100 years.
The small island in the center of Lake Texcoco was situated close to another island in the same lake. The people settled here just as Huitzilopochtli had instructed, using dried mud, stone, and limestone plaster to build a vast kingdom made up of temples, marketplaces, schools, and homes. The two islands eventually fused to become Tenochtitlan, Mesoamerica’s most grand civilization, and the people became known as the Mexica (Aztec).
The fact that Tenochtitlán thrived as a kingdom in the middle of a lake is extraordinary. Think of it like a bowl. Only the bowl is set in Mexico’s Central Highlands and is completely surrounded by mountains l.
