Mexico City is built on Lake Texcoco.
"The Mexicas believed that their god would show them where to build a great city by providing a sign, an eagle eating a snake while perched atop a cactus. When the Mexicas (who would later be known as the Aztecs) saw the vision come true on an island in Lake Texcoco, they decided to build a city there." http://www.history.com/topics/distrito-federal
The Aztecs gradually increased the size of the island until the city Tenochtitlan below resulted.
The Spanish built over this Aztec city until today Mexico City is huge with the lake gradually being filled in. The only sign of this past in the centre of the city are some sinking and leaning buildings e.g. the main Cathedral. The two volcanoes in the distance are the two highest. The highest lake in North America where I swam was on the fourth highest volcano. It is not in this picture but is one of the four volcanoes surrounding the Valley of Mexico in which Mexico City sits. Just imagine these mountains circuiting the lake two thousand years ago.
The two pictures above and below are from a mural reproduced in the Mexico City National Museum of Anthropology - a larger and a smaller lake. The mural relates to the cultural group who inhabited the area around the fourth highest volcano where I swam. I am researching more about this mural. I was told however that lakes and mountains were sacred places for these cultures.
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