How Tenochtitlan Was Built?

Huitzilopochtli

directed them to build where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus, eating a snake. When they saw this exact scene on an island (located in what was once Lake Texcoco), they interpreted it as a sign from their god and founded Tenochtitlan on that island.

Was Tenochtitlan built on a swamp?

Tenochtitlan was located on a swampy island in Lake Texcoco in what is today south central Mexico. ... At first, it wasn't a great place to start a city, but soon the Aztecs built up islands where they could grow crops. The water also worked as a natural defense against attacks from other cities.

How long did Tenochtitlan take to build?

In less than 200 years, it evolved from a small settlement on an island in the western swamps of Lake Texcoco into the powerful political, economic, and religious center of the greatest empire of Precolumbian Mexico.