275 hectares of land was redistributed under the ejido system. Another 3,338 hectares was awarded as ejido land by President Emilio Portes Gil. A system to irrigate these lands was sponsored by President Lázaro Cárdenas between 1937 and 1938, installing a pump to take water out of the drainage canal to irrigate lands here. Another drainage canal for the Valley of Mexico was built through here in 1954 under the presidency of Adolfo Ruiz Cortines. This spurred economic development of the municipality by increasing the amount of cultivable land. The construction of a highway connecting the municipality to Zumpango, Apaxco and the state of Hidalgo helped it to reach new markets. Geography The municipality is located in the northern part of the State of Mexico. The town of Santiago Tequixquiac, the municipal seat, has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: La Heredad, San Miguel, Tlapanaloya, El Cenicero, Colonia Wenceslao Labra, Colonia La Esperanza, Palo Grande, Monte Alto, El Crucero, La Arenilla, La Rinconada and La Vega. The municipality has a total area of and borders the municipalities of Apaxco, Hueypoxtla, Zumpango, Huehuetoca and the state of Hidalgo. The Gran Canal de Desagüe (known as the Xothé River in the Otomi language) is an artificial channel which crosses Tequixquiac. This channel connects with the Tula river and Enthó dam. Other small rivers which connect with Gran Canal are the Río Salado of Hueypoxtla, the Treviño river, and the La Pila river. The municipal seat is located in a small, narrow valley, but most of the municipality is on a high mesa between the Valley of Mexico and the Mezquital Valley. The highest mountain in Tequixquiac is the Cerro Mesa Ahumada, with an elevation of above sea level, on the border between the municipalities of Huehuetoca and Apaxco. Flora and fauna There is a diversity in plants and animals of temperate climate (Mexico Valley) and semi-arid climate (Mezquital Valley). Plants native to the municipality include: Native animals include: cacomistle, skunk, gopher, Virginia opossum, rabbit, Mexican gray squirrel, turkey, colibri, turkey vulture, northern mockingbird, rattlesnake, pine snake, xincoyote (Sceloporus spinosus), red warbler, rufous-crowned sparrow, lesser roadrunner, great horned owl, axolotl, frog, toad, red ant, bee, and others. In prehistoric times, the area was populated by large mammals such as glyptodonts, mammoths, horses, and bison. Ecology and environment Tequixquiac is one of the State of Mexico's municipalities with a low environmental impact. Its people