A Lakeside Paradise

The first Europeans who came to America did not expect to find a great civilization. Imagine how surprised they must have been when they came upon the city of Tenochtitlán, with its towering pyramids and its population of perhaps two hundred thousand.

Tenochtitlán was more than the heart of a great civilization. It was unlike anything the Europeans had ever seen. The city was built on an island in the middle of a lake. Three wide causeways connected the city to the mainland. A network of canals linked different parts of the city. The Aztec traveled around their capital in canoes.