Which lake has been Mexico's largest freshwater lake since Lake Texcoco dried?

Lake Chapala has been Mexico’s largest freshwater lake since Lake Texcoco dried. Located between Jalisco and Michoacán, it lies about 45 kilometers southeast of Guadalajara and covers roughly 1,100 square kilometers.

Lake Texcoco was part of the interconnected lakes around the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. Colonial drainage and water-management projects progressively reduced it, and its desiccation in the early 17th century left Chapala as Mexico’s largest surviving freshwater lake. Chapala itself is much older: sediment dating places its formation in the late Pleistocene, about 38,000 years ago.

The lake is shallow, averaging about 7 meters deep, and is fed chiefly by the Río Lerma and several smaller rivers. Its waters support fisheries, wetlands, farming, tourism, and lakeside communities such as Chapala, Ajijic, and Ocotlán. A common mix-up is confusing it with Lake Cuitzeo, another large Mexican lake; Chapala remains the country’s largest freshwater lake by surface area.