Construction of Tenochtitlan

The Mexica people founded Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico, following a migration from their homeland of Aztlan. According to tradition, the god Huitzilopochtli directed them to settle where they found an eagle perched on a cactus. The city expanded through chinampas, artificial islands built above the waterline, eventually covering over 13 square kilometers. Causeways connected the island to the mainland, and aqueducts delivered fresh water. By the early 1500s, Tenochtitlan housed an estimated 200,000 residents.