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| Lago de Texcoco | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lago de Texcoco |
| Other name | Texcoco Lake |
| Caption | Dry lakebed near Mexico City |
| Location | Basin of Mexico |
| Type | Endorheic lake (historical) |
| Basin countries | Mexico |
| Area | Variable (historical) |
| Elevation | ~2,240 m |
Lago de Texcoco was the largest of a system of interconnected lakes in the Basin of Mexico that included Lago de Zumpango, Lago de Xaltocan, Lago de Chalco, and Lago de Xochimilco; it played a central role in the development of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Empire, and later Mexico City. The lake's seasonal fluctuations and saline waters influenced pre-Columbian agriculture, transport, and urban planning and were central to colonial engineering projects by Spanish authorities such as Enrique de Villena and Viceroyalty of New Spain. Over centuries, hydraulic interventions by figures including Enrique S. Arana and institutions such as the Dirección General de Obras Hidráulicas transformed the lake into reclaimed land, affecting flood control, ecology, and urban expansion.
The lake occupied the northeastern quadrant of the Basin of Mexico alongside Valle de Toluca watersheds and received inflow from rivers like the Río Tula system, Río Cuautitlán, and tributaries draining the Sierra de Guadalupe and Sierra de las Cruces, while losing water by evaporation and subsurface seepage into Lerma River catchments. Seasonal precipitation sourced from the North American Monsoon and orographic rainfall on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt influenced lake levels that historically connected to Lago de Chalco and Lago de Xochimilco through canals and causeways used by Mexica engineers and later by colonial administrators. The saline to brackish character of the basin—affected by volcanic deposits from Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl—created a productivity gradient exploited by communities such as those at Texcoco (altepetl), Otumba, and Acolman.
In pre-Columbian times the lake shores hosted polities of the Triple Alliance including Tenochtitlan, Texcoco (altepetl), and Tlacopan, where rulers like Nezahualcóyotl and Moctezuma II oversaw hydraulic projects such as chinampa agriculture, causeways, and dikes. Chinampas cultivated by Mexica and allied communities produced staples like maize, beans, and amaranth for marketplaces such as the Tlatelolco market, and supported craft specialists documented in codices like the Codex Mendoza, Florentine Codex, and Codex Boturini. Engineering works including the Albarradón de Nezahualcóyotl dike and aqueducts connected to Chapultepec springs reflected indigenous knowledge paralleled by practices in regions like the Maya lowlands and the Valley of Oaxaca.
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, conquerors such as Hernán Cortés, Pedro de Alvarado, and colonial authorities reoriented the lake system to support Mexico City construction on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, building causeways, drainage channels, and the Desagüe project that enlisted engineers like Enrico Martínez and later Sebastián de Aparicio-era labor. Flood disasters in the 16th and 17th centuries prompted interventions by the Viceroyalty of New Spain and responses from figures like Juan de Córdoba and institutions such as the Real Hacienda; Jesuit, Franciscan, and Dominican missions also used reclaimed lands for agriculture and estancias. Colonial maps by Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada and surveys in archives of the Archivo General de la Nación (Mexico) document levees, mills, and the gradual infilling altered by hacendados and mining concessions tied to Real del Monte and Zacatecas silver flows.
Independence-era engineers including Antonio López de Santa Anna and technocrats associated with the Second Mexican Empire debated drainage policies as railroads by the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México and irrigation schemes expanded, while the federal projects of the Porfiriato under Porfirio Díaz accelerated land privatization and reclamation through entrepreneurs like Luis García Cascales. Scientific expeditions by scholars from the Instituto Geográfico Nacional and foreign figures such as Alexander von Humboldt's legacy influenced hydrological understanding, and urbanization pressures from institutions like the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Obras Públicas facilitated subdivision of former lakebed into colonias and ejidos.
Large-scale drainage projects including the 19th-century and early 20th-century Desagüe de la Ciudad de México and the 20th-century tunnel projects overseen by agencies such as the Comisión Nacional del Agua and engineers like Carlos León Bojórquez addressed recurrent floods but lowered groundwater recharge, contributing to subsidence and aquifer overexploitation near Valle de Chalco Solidaridad and Nezahualcóyotl (municipality). Salt pans and evaporative concentration led to soil salinization, while industrialization by companies like Compañía de Luz y Fuerza and urban expansion of municipalities such as Iztapalapa and Gustavo A. Madero increased contamination from mining runoff and sewage, documented by surveys of the Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua and environmental NGOs.
Reclamation projects converted former wetlands into agricultural haciendas, military precincts, and later into urban neighborhoods including Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, San Juan Teotihuacán suburbs, and airport infrastructure such as the Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México expansion zones; planners from the Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda and architects influenced by Luis Barragán and Mario Pani shaped public works and housing projects. Industrial parks, textile mills, and saltworks established by entrepreneurs connected to enterprises like Grupo Modelo and FEMSA further transformed land use, while transport corridors by Autopista México-Puebla and rail terminals altered hydrology and habitat connectivity.
The lake system once supported species-rich wetland habitats hosting migratory birds such as those recorded by ornithologists at the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural and species like the Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) in Xochimilco and remnant populations in canals near Chapultepec, as well as fish, amphibians, and endemic plants adapted to brackish conditions. Drainage and pollution contributed to local extinctions and range contractions affecting taxa studied by researchers at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, CONABIO, and international partners like the Smithsonian Institution, prompting conservation programs, captive-breeding initiatives, and wetland restoration efforts championed by NGOs such as Pronatura México.
Shoreline sites around the basin produced archaeological remains including temples, causeways, chinampa plots, and artifacts cataloged in institutions like the Museo Nacional de Antropología, INAH, and foreign collections in the British Museum and Bibliothèque nationale de France, while literary and artistic works by authors such as Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Diego Rivera, and Octavio Paz invoked the lake in narratives of identity and memory. Ongoing archaeological projects by teams from UNAM, INAH, and international universities investigate urban stratigraphy, hydraulic engineering, and pre-Hispanic iconography linked to rulers like Nezahualcóyotl; cultural heritage designations and debates over development continue to involve agencies such as the UNESCO World Heritage framework and municipal authorities.
Category:Lakes of Mexico Category:Basin of Mexico Category:Environmental history of Mexico