Explore Ancient Tenochtitlan in 3D

You can now explore the heart of the Aztec world on a huge 3D map. Technical artist Thomas Kole, has released an impressive, immersive 3D Tenochtitlan Viewer that allows anyone to navigate the city as it looked on the eve of Spanish contact.

Published to coincide with the 700th anniversary of Tenochtitlan’s founding, the interactive model goes far beyond a typical historical map. Instead of scrolling across a flat rendering, visitors can now soar above a fully realized landscape - a living cityscape rising from Lake Texcoco.

A Fully Controllable Aztec Metropolis

One of the most compelling features of Kole’s viewer is its flexibility. Users can:

• Adjust the sun’s position to illuminate the city at different times of day
• Tilt, rotate, and zoom freely for a true bird’s-eye perspective
• Toggle optional overlays, including historical district names, modern transit lines, and major topographical markers

Remarkably being able to adjust the sun's position means you can even experience the historical city glowing at night.

Reimagining a City on the Water

Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the Mexica people (commonly known as the Aztecs), founded after they settled in the Valley of Mexico. Its location in the shallow western waters of Lake Texcoco was fundamental to its development - something that becomes immediately clear in the 3D Tenochtitlan Viewer, where the city appears surrounded by shimmering water and distant volcanic ridges.

The city began as a small, raised island. The Mexica ingeniously expanded both their agricultural land and living space using the chinampa system - rectangular, highly fertile artificial plots anchored in the lakebed. In the 3D model, these chinampas extend across the lake in striking geometric patterns, allowing viewers to appreciate their scale and layout.

By the height of the Aztec Triple Alliance (Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan), the city had become one of the ancient world’s most remarkable urban centers. It was a dense, vibrant altepetl (city-state), characterized by an elaborate network of temples, causeways, canals, and bustling markets. The interactive viewer highlights these features in remarkable detail - letting users glide over ceremonial precincts, trace the long causeways that once linked the island to the mainland, and explore the canal-filled neighborhoods from any angle.