Mexico City

**Mexico City** is the capital and largest city of Mexico. It's also the most populous city in North America. Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico within the high Mexican central plateau, at an altitude of . The city has 16 boroughs or , which are in turn divided into neighborhoods or .

The 2020 population for the city proper was 9,209,944, with a land area of .

## History

Mexico City was first built in the 1520s after Hernán Cortés destroyed the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards then emptied the basin of Lake Texcoco to keep it from flooding. By the late 1700s, Mexico City had over 100,000 people. However, there were many slums, which caused epidemics. There were political problems in the mid-1800s after Mexico became independent. More than 40 people ruled in the 40 years after the country became independent. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, electric light and gas were brought to the city. But there was a big difference between the rich western part of the city and the poor eastern part of the city. By 1930, Mexico City had 1,000,000 people. The city kept growing quickly. In 1968, the Olympic Games were in Mexico City. In 1985, an earthquake hit the capital. In the past few decades, there have been problems with crime and corruption.

## Environment

Mexico City has a high population density. It is also surrounded by mountains. This causes problems with air pollution.

Sometimes Mexico City gets earthquakes.

### Geography

Mexico City is in the Valley of Mexico at around 2,300 meters (7,800 feet) above sea level.

Mexico City its divided by 16 boroughs: Álvaro Obregón, Azcapotzalco, Benito Juarez, Coyoacán, Cuajimalpa, Cuauhtémoc, Gustavo A. Madero, Iztacalco, Iztapalapa, Magdalena Contreras, Miguel Hidalgo, Milpa Alta, Tláhuac, Tlalpan, Venustiano Carranza and Xochimilco.

Mexico City was originally built on a lake, Lake Texcoco, which is now mostly drained. The ecology of the area has been much changed by the draining. Many of its native species, such as the Axolotl, are extinct, or endangered.

The mountains Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl are nearby.

### Climate

Mexico City is in the tropics. But because its elevation is so high, it has a subtropical highland climate (_Cwb_ in the Köppen climate classification). This means temperatures are warm or mild year-round. It is a lot wetter in the summer than in the winter. Some parts of the city get frost in the winter.
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## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Mexico City
- **native name**:

- **settlement type**: Capital city, Capital and megacity
- **image shield**: Coat of arms of Mexico City, Mexico.svg
- **image blank emblem**: Gobierno de la Ciudad de México.svg
- **shield size**: 65px
- **nickname**: CDMX,
<small>_(The City of Palaces)_</small>
- **motto**: <small>_(Capital of the transformation)_</small>
- **image map**: Mexico (city) in Mexico (zoom).svg
- **map caption**: Mexico City within Mexico
- **pushpin map**: Mexico#North America
- **pushpin relief**: yes
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **established title**: Founded
- **leader title**: Head of Government of Mexico City, Head of Government
- **leader name**: Clara Brugada (Morena (political party), MORENA)
- **leader title1**: List of Mexican state legislatures, Legislature
- **leader name1**: Congress of Mexico City
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 1,485
- **area metro km2**: 7,866
- **area note**: List of Mexican states by area, Ranked 32nd
- **elevation m**: 2,240
- **elevation max point**: Ajusco
- **population total**: 9,209,944
- **population as of**: 2020
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population urban**: 23,146,802
- **population metro**: 21,804,515
- **population rank**: List of North American cities by population, 1st in North America
List of cities in Mexico, 1st in Mexico
- **population density rank**: List of Mexican states by population density, 1st
- **demographics type2**: GDP
- **demographics2 title1**: Capital city, Capital and megacity
- **demographics2 info1**: Mexican peso, MXN
- **demographics2 title2**: Metro
- **demographics2 info2**: Mexican peso, MXN
- **timezone1**: Central Time Zone, CST
- **utc offset1**: −06:00
- **postal code type**: Postal codes in Mexico, Postal code
- **postal code**: 00–16
- **area code**: Area code 55 (Mexico), 55/Area code 56 (Mexico), 56
- **area code type**: Area code
- **iso code**: MX-CMX
- **blank name sec1**: Patron saint, Patron Saint
- **blank info sec1**: Philip of Jesus ()
- **blank1 name sec1**: Human Development Index, HDI
- **blank1 info sec1**: 0.847 <span style="color:#090">very high</span> <small>List of Mexican states by HDI, Ranked 1st of 32</small>
- **footnotes**: b. Area of Mexico City that includes non-urban areas at the south
- **elevation max m**: 3930
- **blank emblem type**: Government logo