![Acueducto de Chapultepec 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Acueducto_de_Chapultepec_02.JPG)
The Chapultepec aqueduct (in Spanish: acueducto de Chapultepec) was built to provide potable water to
Tenochtitlan
, ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...
, now known as
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. This fresh water was transported from the Chapultepec springs. Two aqueducts following the same route from the springs were built by the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
s during the 15th century, the first destroyed by flooding and the second by the Spanish. After the
Spanish conquest
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...
a colonial aqueduct was built, the ruins of which are located near
Metro Sevilla.
Original Chapultepec aqueduct
The water level under Tenochtitlan was only 4–5 feet below the city however, it was not a viable source of freshwater as the water retrieved was brackish. 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.
Building relied on mud and plant material to create the foundation, which rested on artificial islands that were spread 3 to 4 meters apart.
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.
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.
Despite its relative longevity, the composition of the aqueduct could not withstand the forces of nature.
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.
Second Chapultepec aqueduct
After the destruction of the original aqueduct, the king of Texcoco,
Nezahualcoyotl, ordered the construction of another water system using sturdier materials following the same route as the original.
This aqueduct consisted of two mortar lined troughs made of stone masonry. The addition of the second trough allowed for water to be diverted to the second pipe when maintenance had to be performed on the other. This allowed for a continuous supply of fresh water to be delivered to the city. Like the original aqueduct, the second rested on a chain of artificial islands. The pipes were secured to the islands by wood pilings attached to a foundation of sand, lime, and rock.
The aqueduct was constructed using wood, carved stone, and compacted soil, with portions made of hollowed logs, allowing canoes to travel underneath.
Colonial aqueduct
![FUENTE DE SALTO DEL AGUA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/FUENTE_DE_SALTO_DEL_AGUA.jpg)
After his arrival in the Aztec empire,
Hernán Cortés discovered the economic and political importance of the Chapultepec aqueduct. He took advantage of the city's dependence on the aqueduct and blocked the fresh water supply, eventually destroying it. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, he set about dividing the land among the conquistadors. He wanted to take the forest of Chapultepec for himself, but
Charles V, King of Spain, denied his request and decreed that the springs were needed to provide the people with potable water and were thereby the property of the city of Tenochtitlan.
Construction of a new aqueduct started under the reigning Viceroy
Fernando de Alencastre, 1st Duke of Linares (1711-1716). The structure became known under another name as the Aqueduct of Belen, named after an old Belen convent it passed by. Built along the same path as the Aztec engineered aqueducts, it was constructed using Roman architecture, reflected in its 904 arches. In completion, it reached a total length of 4663
varas, roughly 4 kilometers. In conquest times, the aqueduct supplied the city with the majority of its freshwater, however, waterborne illness was a concern. In an effort to reduce the possibility of external contamination, iron and lead pipes were installed to replace the open troughs during the 19th Century.
These shielded the water from air and outside contaminants but did not decrease the number of pathogen related illnesses and death.
Located on Chapultepec Avenue near Metro Sevilla, a small section, about twenty-two arches long, still survives today.
Also standing today are two fountains associated with the aqueduct. The first is found wedged between
Chapultepec Park
Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...
and
Metro Chapultepec. Constructed by the viceroy
Agustín de Ahumada, this fountain was designed to divert a water to this section of the city. It also served a decorative and historical purpose. However, it is no longer in its original location: it was restored, enlarged and moved to its current location by Roberto Alvarez Espinoza in 1921. The second fountain, Salto del Agua, was built at the intersection of
Eje Central
The Eje Central or Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas is an avenue in the Cuauhtémoc and Gustavo A. Madero boroughs of Mexico City, Mexico. It is part of a system called eje vial of roadways built by Carlos Hank González to modernize Mexico City for imp ...
and Arcos de Belen Street, where the historic center meets
Colonia Doctores
Colonia Doctores (''English: Doctors' Colony'') is an official neighborhood just southwest of the historic center of Mexico City. It is bordered by Avenida Cuauhtémoc to the west, across from Belen Street to the north, Eje Central to the east ...
and
Colonia Obrera
Colonia Obrera is an administrative neighborhood of the borough of Cuauhtémoc in the center of Mexico City. It was established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and became home to many artisans and industrial workmen. Up to the early 19 ...
. While it is at the original location, it is not the original fountain. It had deteriorated badly, and a reproduction was made by Guillermo Ruiz. The original is on display at the
Museo Nacional del Virreinato
The Museo Nacional del Virreinato (in Spanish, National Museum of the Viceroyalty of New Spain) is located in the former College of San Francisco Javier complex in Tepotzotlán, Mexico State, Mexico.
Belongs to Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y l ...
in
Tepotzotlán
Tepotzotlán () is a city and a municipality in the Mexico, Mexican state of Mexico. It is located northeast of Mexico City about a 45-minute drive along the Mexico City-Querétaro at marker number 41. In Aztec times, the area was the center o ...
.
Historical images of the Aqueduct and Salto del Agua Fountain
File:Termination of an Aquaduct in Mexico.jpg, Termination of the Aqueduct, painting of 1844 by Brantz Mayer
Brantz Mayer (September 27, 1809 - February 23, 1879) was an American author, lawyer, and historian. In 1844, he founded the Maryland Historical Society, which is today the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland.
Early life
B ...
.
File:Salto del Agua Fountain (Mexico City) litography of 1855 by Casimiro Castro (cropped).jpg, Salto del Agua Fountain in a painting of 1855 by Casimiro Castro
Casimiro Castro (24 April 1826 Tepetlaoxtoc – 8 January 1889 Mexico City), was a Mexican painter and lithographer, and is regarded as having been a leading graphic and landscape artist in nineteenth century Mexico.
Biography
Casimiro, son of ...
.
File:OSR Mexico D269 termination of the aqueduct.png, Salto de Agua Fountain (ending the Aqueduct), painting of 1870 by Albert S. Evans
Albert S. Evans was an American explorer and writer. Prior to 1856, he lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and worked as a broker. He lived in Chicago and worked for many years at the ''Daily Journal''. Evans arrived in San Francisco in 1861, began ...
.
File:The water's leap (Mexico).jpg, Salto del Agua Fountain in 1903. Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
.
File:El Salto del Agua (21855007731).jpg, Salto del Agua Fountain in 1920 by Hugo Brehme Hugo Brehme, (3 December 1882, Eisenach, Germany; 13 June 1954, Mexico City) was a German-born photographer of Mexico. Working almost exclusively in black and white, he established a photographic studio in Mexico City “Fotografía Artística Hugo ...
.
See also
*
Chapultepec
Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...
References
{{coord, 19, 25, 20.9, N, 99, 10, 4.93, W, region:MX
Aqueducts in Mexico
Landmarks in Mexico City
Buildings and structures in Mexico City
Buildings and structures in Mesoamerica
Aztec sites
Aztec science and technology
Tenochtitlan