Chapultepec aqueduct
The Chapultepec aqueduct (in Spanish: acueducto de Chapultepec) was built to provide potable water to
Original Chapultepec aqueduct
The water level under Tenochtitlan was 10-11 feet below the city. However, it was not a viable source of freshwater as the water retrieved was brackish.[4] Shallow wells were constructed, and the water retrieved was used for household work. Construction of an aqueduct that brought fresh water, suitable for cooking and drinking, from Chapultepec springs to Tenochtitlan began in 1418.[5] Building relied on mud and plant material to create the foundation, which rested on artificial islands that were spread 3 to 4 meters apart.[5] Mounds consisting of mud were constructed on these islands and driven through with a wooden stake for support. The top of each mound had a hollowed out trough lined with compacted clay, and hollowed out logs were placed in the bottom of the flow path to bridge gaps between the islands. A wooden plank walkway flanked the aqueduct, making it easily accessible and a method of transportation from the city to the outlying areas.[6] Once the water reached the city, it was delivered to small reservoirs and select households through a network of canals that extended in the four cardinal directions and branched off to individual streets.[7]
Despite its relative longevity, the composition of the aqueduct could not withstand the forces of nature.[5] Erosion weathered away the compacted clay, and in 1449, heavy rains triggered a flood that destroyed the aqueduct and effectively shut down Tenochtitlan for weeks.[8]
Second Chapultepec aqueduct
After the destruction of the original aqueduct, the king of
Colonial aqueduct
Located on Chapultepec Avenue near Metro Sevilla, a small section, about twenty-two arches long, still survives today.
Historical images of the Aqueduct and Salto del Agua Fountain
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Termination of the Aqueduct, painting of 1844 by Brantz Mayer.[17]
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Salto del Agua Fountain in a painting of 1855 by Casimiro Castro.[18]
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Salto de Agua Fountain (ending the Aqueduct), painting of 1870 by Albert S. Evans.[19]
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Salto del Agua Fountain in 1903. Library of Congress.[20]
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Salto del Agua Fountain in 1920 by Hugo Brehme.[21]
See also
References
- ^ Mexico, The Eye (2023-01-29). "Chinampas, Calzadas, and Aqueducts: The Ancient Engineering Marvels of Tenochtitlán". The Eye Mexico. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ Villasenor, Raynal (April 1987). The remarkable hydrological works of the Aztec civilization. Water for the Future:Hydrology in Perspective Proceedings of Rome Symposium IAHS. p. 164.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-59880-083-8.
- ^ Gibbons, Charles (1964). The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule: A History of the Indians of the Valley of Mexico, 1519-1810. Stanford University Press.
- ^ a b c d e Berdan, Frances (2014). Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78–79.
- ^ Roca, Zoran (2011). Landscapes, Identities, and Development. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
- ^ Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel (October 3, 2007). Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Trowbridge, Edward D. (1919). Mexico To-day and To-morrow. Macmillan. pp. 23.
- ISBN 978-0-292-71262-1.
- ^ Becerril, Jiménez (March 2007). "Potable water and sanitation in Tenochtitlan: Aztec culture". Water Science and Technology. 7.
- ^ "Aztec Empire Strategy: Use Dual Pipes in Your Aqueduct for High Availability - High Scalability -". highscalability.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
- ISBN 9780817358266.
- ^ Bell, Agrippa. Contributions to the Bacteriological Study of the Drinking Waters of the City of Mexico: Springs Bacteriological Analysis of the Waters of Chapultepec. The Sanitarian.
- ^ Prado Nuñez, Ricardo (1965). Catalogo de monumentos Escultoricos y Conmemorativos del Distrito Federal. pp. 20–23.
- ^ Pública, Agencia Digital de Innovación. "Chapultepec Fountain & Aqueduct". Mexico City. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ Pública, Agencia Digital de Innovación. "Chapultepec Fountain & Aqueduct". Mexico City. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ Brantz Mayer. Mexico as it was and as it is. United States.
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ignored (help) - ^ "México y sus alrededores. Colección de monumentos, trajes y paisajes". Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library Foundation. Spain. p. Lit. I.
- ^ Albert S. Evans (1870). Our Sister Republic: A Gala Trip Through Tropical Mexico In 1869-70. United States: Columbian Book Company.
- ^ "The "Water's leap" - fountain at end of aqueduct bringing water from Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico". Library of Congress. Underwood & Underwood.
- ^ "El Salto del Agua". SMU Libraries.