Aztec Flood and Dike Reconstruction

1448

Catastrophic flooding inundated Tenochtitlan after Lake Texcoco overflowed its banks during exceptional rains. Moctezuma I commissioned the philosopher-king Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco to design a massive dike, ten miles long, separating the dangerous salt waters of the main lake from the freshwater lagoons surrounding the island capital. The engineering project saved the city from future inundation and demonstrated Mesoamerican hydraulic mastery at its most ambitious scale.