Abstract
THE valley in which Mexico is situated is almost unrivalled for its beauty, and is encompassed on all sides by great mountain ranges clothed with cedars and pines. The land is extremely fertile, notwithstanding its elevated position of 7000 feet above the level of the sea. Although thus beautifully placed, and at such a great elevation, Mexico was considered one of the most unhealthy cities in the world, the death-rate amounting as high as 40 per thousand; the cause being the want of proper drainage. The valley forms an immense basin covering 2220 square miles, hemmed in with solid walls of rock, and having only two or three high passes out of it. The valley thus shut in formed at one time an inland sea, but owing to earthquakes and other causes the water gradually subsided until it became confined to six great lakes. Each of these lakes is fed by streams from the mountains, which in winter frequently cause the lakes to overflow and inundate the adjoining land. It was in the middle of this valley that the Aztecs founded their city of Tenochitlan, building their houses and temples on piles. Subsequently as the water lessened and the fear of in undation became less,"the dwellings were placed on the water-logged ground.
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Drainage and Irrigation Works in Mexico. Nature 56, 589–590 (1897). https://doi.org/10.1038/056589c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/056589c0