The site of the now-extinct Lake Texcoco in Mexico City - Earth.com

The site of the now-extinct Lake Texcoco in Mexico City

05-07-2018


The site of the now-extinct Lake Texcoco in Mexico City Today’s Video of the Day comes from the European Space Agency’s Earth from Space series and features a look at an area of Mexico City that used to be home to the now-extinct Lake Texcoco.

These images were captured by the KOMPSAT-2 satellite over eastern Mexico City in an area known as the Valley of Mexico. Over the course of several centuries, the lake was drained and the area is now home to several smaller reservoirs and ponds.

The site of the now-extinct Lake Texcoco in Mexico City  as shown above in the video shows the By 1250 BC the identifying signs of the Tlatilco culture, including more complex settlements and a stratified social structure, are seen around the lake.

By roughly 800 BC Cuicuilco had eclipsed the Tlatilco cultural centers and was the major power in the Valley of Mexico during the next 200 years when its famous conical pyramid was built. Lake Texcoco (Spanish: Lago de Texcoco) was a natural lake within the “Anahuac” or Valley of Mexico. Lake Texcoco is best known as where the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan, which was located on an island within the lake.

By Rory Arnold, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: European Space Agency

News coming your way
The biggest news about our planet delivered to you each day