9/22/2017 Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse.

hquakes Much Worse. - The New York Times

Sections Home Search

The New York Times

Americas |Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse.

Log In Settings
Close search

Site Search Navigation

Search NYTimes.com
Search NYTimes.com Clear this text input Go
https://nyti.ms/2yhogTX

1. Loading...

See next articles

See previous articles

Site Navigation
Site Mobile Navigation

Americas Mexico City

Was Built on
an Ancient Lake Bed.
That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse.
By DEREK WATKINS and JEREMY WHITE SEPT. 22, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/22/world/americas/mexico-city-earthquake-lake-bed-geology.html?_r=0 1/8
9/22/2017 Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse. - The New York Times

SIERRA DE
Simulated GUADALUPE
epicenter
MEXICO Area of ancient
CIT Y lake bed

Shock waves from

a simulated earthquake
The New York Times | Source: Vctor Cruz-Atienza, National University of Mexico

The earthquake that on Tuesday killed at least 135 people in

Mexico City and toppled dozens of buildings there was all the
more destructive because of the citys unusual position atop an
ancient lake bed.

The animation above, based on a model by Vctor Cruz-Atienza, a

professor of geophysics at the National University of Mexico,
shows how the shock waves of a hypothetical earthquake near
Mexico City would spread. Darker red areas indicate the
strongest ground movement.

The shaking in this simulation is strongest in the low parts of the

Valley of Mexico, which cradles the city, and it weakens when it
meets the surrounding hills. Thats no coincidence. The darker red
areas showing the strongest shock waves trace the shape of an
ancient lake.

The Spanish built modern Mexico City over the ruins of the Aztec
capital of Tenochtitlan, which they conquered in 1521. The Aztec
city was on an island in Lake Texcoco, but the Spanish drained the
surrounding lake over centuries and expanded Mexico City onto
the new land.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/22/world/americas/mexico-city-earthquake-lake-bed-geology.html?_r=0 2/8
9/22/2017 Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse. - The New York Times

Today, much of the city stands on layers of sand and clay up to

100 yards deep that used to be under the lake. These soft, water-
laden sediments make the city uniquely vulnerable to earthquakes
and other problems.

2 MI.

The city stands on soft The lake bed ...and is surrounded

ancient lake sediments. contains some hills... by mountains.

1 MILE
ABOVE SEA HARDER ROCK
LEVEL

The New York Times

During an earthquake, the looser sediments near the surface cause

shockwaves to slow down from about one and a half miles per
second to about 150 feet per second as they enter the valley. The
slower waves grow in amplitude, similar to a tsunami approaching
a coastline, and cause more violent shaking.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/22/world/americas/mexico-city-earthquake-lake-bed-geology.html?_r=0 3/8
9/22/2017 Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse. - The New York Times

Worse still, the denser, deeper material below the looser sediments
causes waves to linger in the valley, making the amplified shaking
last longer.

The map below, based on seismological readings taken at the

National University of Mexico, shows how violently the ground
shook in Mexico City during Tuesdays earthquake. Like the
simulation map, the redder the area, the more violently the
ground shook.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/22/world/americas/mexico-city-earthquake-lake-bed-geology.html?_r=0 4/8
9/22/2017 Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse. - The New York Times

MEXICO
CIT Y

Lake bed

Strength of shaking in Mexico City

The New York Times | Source: The Institute of Engineering at the National University of Mexico

These actual readings confirm what the simulation shows:

Tuesdays earthquake grew worse in the city as its waves moved
through the ancient lake bed below.

Mexico City is already a hot spot for earthquakes because vast

chunks of the earths crust, called tectonic plates, are slowly
smashing into one another nearby. Mexico rests on the North

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/22/world/americas/mexico-city-earthquake-lake-bed-geology.html?_r=0 5/8
9/22/2017 Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse. - The New York Times

American Plate, and the Cocos Plate slides underneath it along the
countrys southwestern coast.

MEXICO

200 MILES

Mexico City

TUESDAYS EPICENTER

COC
OS
PLA
TE

The collision as one plate plunges below the other, a movement

called subduction, releases huge amounts of energy, making
earthquakes a common occurrence in Mexico. Unlike Tuesdays,
many of these earthquakes are small.

The unique geology of Mexico Citys basin can amplify earthquake

waves to be a hundred times stronger than they would be
otherwise, a phenomenon that Dr. Cruz-Atienza said is not
matched anywhere else in the world.

Partly because of this amplification, earthquakes that happen

relatively far away from Mexico City can still cause significant
damage. A devastating earthquake in 1985 that killed as many as
10,000 people originated over 200 miles away, near the Pacific
coast of Mexico.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/22/world/americas/mexico-city-earthquake-lake-bed-geology.html?_r=0 6/8
9/22/2017 Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse. - The New York Times

The epicenter of Tuesday's quake was closer, around 50 miles

away, but the map below shows that it shook Mexico City more
violently than other areas that were a similar distance from the
epicenter.

Mexico City

Puebla

Atlixco

EPICENTER

20 MILES

The New York Times | Source: United States Geological Survey

The 1985 earthquake prompted improvements to building codes

that are thought to have lessened the damage on Tuesday. But
earthquakes will always pose a unique threat to Mexico City,
because of the geologic implications of the ancient lake bed that
lies beneath it.

Sources: Vctor Cruz-Atienza and Mario Ordaz at the National University of Mexico, and Dr. Cruz-Atienzas
2016 paper, Long Duration of Ground Motion in the Paradigmatic Valley of Mexico

Additional work by Troy Griggs, K.K. Rebecca Lai and Anjali Singhvi. Additional reporting by Henry Fountain.

Related Multimedia
Advertisement

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/22/world/americas/mexico-city-earthquake-lake-bed-geology.html?_r=0 7/8
9/22/2017 Mexico City Was Built on an Ancient Lake Bed. That Makes Earthquakes Much Worse. - The New York Times

Site Information Navigation

2017 The New York Times Company
Home
Search
Accessibility concerns? Email us at accessibility@nytimes.com. We would love to hear from you.
Contact Us
Work With Us
Advertise
Your Ad Choices
Privacy
Terms of Service
Terms of Sale

Site Information Navigation

Site Map
Help
Site Feedback
Subscriptions

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/22/world/americas/mexico-city-earthquake-lake-bed-geology.html?_r=0 8/8