Lake Texcoco

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lake-texcoco

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Where is Lake Texcoco?Anahuac Valley (Valley of Mexico), Mexico
2. What is the capital of Lake Texcoco?Mexico City (built on the former lakebed)
3. How many people live in Lake Texcoco?Mexico City metropolitan area: Over 22 million
4. What language do people speak in Lake Texcoco?Spanish
5. What was Lake Texcoco and why was it important to the Aztecs?Lake Texcoco was a large salty lake in central Mexico where the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan grew on an island. It gave food, water, and a place to build the city.
6. How did the Aztecs grow food on the lake?They used chinampas, which are small floating gardens made of mud and plant material, to grow crops right on the lake’s surface.

Anahuac Valley: A high-altitude basin in central Mexico, historically dominated by a system of lakes.
Chinampas: Artificial agricultural islands created by Mexica engineers on the shallow lakebeds.
Land Subsidence: The gradual sinking of the ground surface, a critical issue in Mexico City due to groundwater extraction.
Endemic Species: Species of plants or animals that are found in a particular geographic area and nowhere else.