The Anáhuac plateau is a geographic region located in the south-central part of Mexico, which is also known as the Valley of Mexico, and covers an area of 9,600 km².
This valley, along with three other large ones located in the Mexican territory, forms the so-called Cuenca de México, which is made up of the valleys of Cuautitlán, Apan, Tizayuca and the Valley of Mexico itself.
The Aztec civilization flourished in this territory, due among other things to its agricultural strength supported by fertile lands, the abundance of water, its developed irrigation systems and the favorable climate.
Origin
In this intermountain valley there was formerly a lake basin. At present, the natural lakes of Texcoco, Zumpango and San Cristóbal, and several artificial dams or reservoirs, are hardly preserved in this area.
Anahuac in the native Nahuatl language means "near the water" or "between the waters", as this region was originally made up of various bodies of water.
Initially, it comprised the natural lakes Xochimilco, Texcoco, and Chalco, which were fed by bodies of water that drained or seeped from the Sierra Nevada, the Sierra de las Cruces and the Sierra de Ajusco-Chichinauhtzin. But later it spread to other areas of Mexico City.
The drainage of the lakes that made up the Anáhuac Plateau began around the 1600s. It continued more rapidly centuries later with the opening of the Tequixquiac tunnel in 1900, used to divert water to the east of the region.
Then, in 1951, another additional system of aqueducts began to be used to transfer drinking water and feed hydroelectric plants destined to serve the growing population of Mexico City.
Unlike others, the Valley of Mexico basin has an artificial origin. The current tributaries provide drinking water to Mexico City and other towns located in its metropolitan area.
The water currents coming from the Anáhuac Plateau are channeled towards the Tula River, which in turn feeds the Pánuco River, which finally flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
Location
The Anáhuac plateau is located in the south central region, right in the heart of the country. It has an altitude of more than 2,000 meters above sea level and in 2005 20.54 million inhabitants lived in its territory.
However, before the Spanish conquest it is estimated that between two and three million people lived in this territory.
The capital city of Mexico is located on this plateau, which was formerly inhabited by various peoples such as the Olmec, Toltec, Chichimeca, Otomi and Aztecs or Mexica, among other Mesoamerican civilizations.
There the monumental city of Teotihuacán was built, then it was the center of power of New Spain during the Colony, and it is currently Mexico City.
This valley or plateau forms the Neovolcanic axis of the Mexico basin (not to be confused with the Valley of Mexico basin).
It is surrounded by the mountainous system that make up the mountains of Monte Alto, Monte Bajo and Las Cruces, as well as Pachuca, the Sierra Nevada and the Chichinauhtzin mountain range.
In the Anáhuac plateau or Valley of Mexico, the presence of two volcanoes stands out in one of its national parks: the active Popocatépetl volcano, located on the border between the territories of Mexico, Morelos and Puebla; and the inactive Iztaccíhuatl volcano, located about 10 kilometers north.
References
- Imaz, Mireya. Natural History of the Valley of Mexico. 1989.
- Valley of Mexico. Consulted from britannica.com
- Arreola, Luis Langarica. The Anahuac Valley and the tribes of Mexico. Retrieved October 2, 2017 from alainet.org
- Mexico's valley. Consulted of es.wikipedia.org
- Anahuac. Consulted of es.wikipedia.org
- Anáhuac (Plateau of central Mexico) Consulted of definitions-de.com
- The Teotihuacanos. Consulted of historia-mexico.info