page_title: Tláhuac
section_title: Geography and environment
hierarchical_section_title: Tláhuac / Geography and environment
context_page_description: Tláhuac is one of the 16 municipalities into which Mexico City is divided. It is located on the south east edge of the district and while much is still rural in character, it has been undergoing urbanization with the fastest rate of population growth in Mexico City since the 1960s. Most of this urbanization is occurring in the northwest of the borough and in some of the larger communities, with the south and east still having significant tracts of farmland, which are under conservation. Much of the area is former lakebed where Lake Chalco and Lake Xochimilco met, with the town of San Pedro Tláhuac originally on an island. There are still some lake areas along with four major canals and wetlands, also under conservation status. The urbanization has led to serious traffic and transportation problems as well as the completion of Line 12 of the Mexico City Metro in 2012, which a terminal in the borough.
context_section_description: The borough of Tláhuac is located in the southeastern part of the Federal District of Mexico City, about 60 km from the historic center of Mexico City . It is bordered by the boroughs of Iztapalapa, Milpa Alta and Xochimilco as well as the municipality of Valle de Chalco Solidaridad in the State of Mexico . The borough extends over 89.5.km2 of territory, accounting for 5.75% of the Federal District. The borough is part of the Valley of Mexico, in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt that extends across central Mexico. The borough expands over much of the former Lake Chalco and Lake Xochimilco where the two connected, which were drained over the centuries since the Spanish conquest. The territory is classified into three zones, flat lakebed, transitional areas and hills with accumulated volcanic materials. The main elevations include the Guadalupe Volcano, the Xaltepec Volcano, Tecuautzi, Tetecón, the Sierra de Santa Catarina and Teuhtli Volcano. The Sierra de Santa Catarina is a small volcanic belt which has elevations of up to 2,800 meters above sea level. It serves as an important aquifer recharge area as well as a barrier to urban sprawl from Iztapalapa on the other side. On the south end is the Tehuitli Volcanco with an altitude of 2,700 meters above sea level.
  The borough contains a number of towns and localities. Those considered by the government to be urban (with 2010 population figures in parentheses) are: Tláhuac (305,076), San Juan Ixtayopan (24,120), San Andrés Mixquic (13,310), Santa Catarina Yecahuitzotl (9,563), and San Nicolás Tetelco (4,246). In addition, there are approximately 50 rural settlements with populations each of less than 1,000.
  The predominant climate of the borough is semi moist and temperate with an average annual temperature of 15.7C varying between a low of 8.3C and a high of 22.8C. The average annual rainfall is 533.8mm with most rain falling from June to August.
  Much of the area is former shallow lake with remaining open water, wetlands and canals. Much of the surface water is saline due to the high mineral content of the soil and lack of natural outflow. The Lago de los Reyes Aztecas (Lake of the Aztec Kings) is a lake that covers 1.9 hectares and connects to the large network of canals and chinampas of the borough. It hosts about twenty five species of migratory birds including ducks and storks along with various fish, amphibians and reptiles. It is the most important tourist attraction of the borough with docks and trajinera boats. The main docks in Tlahuac do not have a large number of boats or restaurants as in Xochimilco. It is still possible to see small natural islands as well as natural vegetation in much of the area with chinampas still growing foodstuffs such as broccoli, chard, beets, chili peppers, peas, fava beans and corn. There are four main canals: Chalco, Guadalupano, Atecuyuac and Amecameca. The first two are important as sources of water for the chinampas of the borough and as a tourist attraction. There are also other smaller canals which serve as irrigation. On the border with the State of Mexico, there is an important ecological reserve lake area called the Cieniega de Tláhuac. There is also an artificial lake at the Bosque de Tláhuac. Los Humedales wetlands is an ecological reserve which covers between 400 and 800 hectares depending on whether it is the rainy or dry season, a remnant of Lake Chalco. It is one of the few wetlands left in the Valley of Mexico and host a large number of migratory birds. It is also home to species called pocket gophers, skunks, squirrels, snakes and bats.
  Much of the borough is an important recharge zone for aquifers especially the area around the Sierra de Santa Catarina. There are a number of flooding areas, especially during the rainy season, mostly due to poor drainage systems and the existence of urban areas on former lakebed. Despite having a significant amount former lakebed the borough in general is not prone to earthquake damage, with only a few areas with susceptibility scattered in the borough. There is also a fault line south
caption: Hydrodraulic map of the borough
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