Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325 in a swampy area near the western edge. of Lake Texcoco. According to Mexica mythology,Texcoco. Accord_ing to Mexica mythology,snake in its claws settled there-an image that is still a part of Mexico's national emblem. In fact, the Mexica were likely forced to live on this undesirable land by the Tepanecs, another Nahua group, to whom the Mexica were first subservient but whom they eventually conquered. The Mexica drained the swampy 10-square-kilometer lake and built it into a gridded island city that was linked to additional settlements on the mainland by three raised causeways. A network of streets and canals, like those of contemporary Un'an in China and Venice in Italy, teemed with boats transporting goods and people. Ceremonial art and luxury goods of the finest quality were traded and sold in Tlateloco, its central market. Two aqueducts brought fresh water .into the city.