The settlement of Mexico City began in the 1300's when the Aztecs founded 
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their capital, Tenochtitlàn, on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco (A). 
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They partially drained the lake, thereby forming one large oval island, which 
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was connected to the mainland by three causeways (B). By 1519, when the 
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Spanish arrived, Tenochtitlàn contained over 100,000 people. The Spanish 
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drained the lake completely and replanned the city. A cathedral was built 
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near the site of the Aztec temple, roads were constructed, and ranches and 
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mines were established. In 1824 the boundaries of the Distrito Federal were 
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created–an area of 580 square miles (1,500 square kilometers)–and in 1865 
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the city limits were extended with the expansion of outlying residential areas 
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(C). By 1970 Mexico City contained 18 per cent of the total national 
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population. The metropolitan area spilled over the limits of the Distrito 
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Federal. Today the Mexico City metropolitan area covers about 883 square 
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miles (2,287 square kilometers) (D). Mexico City's population is now 
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14,445,000 people. At present the population density exceeds 15,000 per 
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square mile. The projected growth rate is 113 per cent for the year 2000.