The territory is mostly the bed of the former Lake Texcoco with soils of compressed clay over sand, with the exception of the Peñón de los Baños at 2,290 metres (7,513 feet) above sea level, made of basalt.

[2] In the parks and other green spaces of the borough, trees such as ash, white cedar, cypress, fig and Indian laurel, various scrubs and grasses can be found.

The area is dedicated to Mary Magdalene because the first-born daughter of Moctezuma II requested such from Hernán Cortés .

[7] Other notable neighborhoods include Colonia Balbuena, named after poet Bernardo de Balbuena,[4] La Candelaria de los Patos, which gets its name from the large flocks of ducks that used to live here when the area was still lake, El Parque, Jamaica, Zaragoza, Romero Rubio and Gómez Fárias.

There is a smaller section devoted to baskets, rope and handcrafts with another building selling leather, storage containers, ornamental plants and prepared food.

The façade is of red tezontle stone with white marble in the center with the seal of the country prominently displayed.

[13] The main governmental building for the borough is located at Avenida Francisco del Paso y Troncoso in Jardín Balbuena.

To the south of this church, the Temple of San Jeronimito was constructed in the La Candelaria de los Patos neighborhood.

[5] The oldest sports facility of Mexico City was built in the Balbuena area with the name of Venustiano Carranza, inaugurated in 1929.

Residents of this area dress as the Mexican forces, called Zacapoaxtlas and the French army and even includes the firing of cannons with blanks for effect.

The divide to represent the French army and the band of peasants called Zacapoaxtlas along with Mexican soldiers which won the historical battle.

The event begins early in the morning on May 5 with a salute to the Mexican flag and a parade to the Peñón de los Baños mountain.

When the French are defeated, they run down the mountain and through the Barrio del Carmen where they are chased and then “executed” at the area cemetery.

[17] The emblem of the borough is the former Aztec glyph used to mark a village name Xochicán as it appears in the Mendocino Codex.

The flower image means “place of fragrant flowers.”[5] Except for the far west which was part of the island of Tenochtitlan, the Peñón de los Baños and a couple of very small islands in-between, the territory of the borough was covered by Lake Texcoco from the pre Hispanic period into the colonial period.

[3][5] The oldest human settlements in the area were located in the Mixuhca and Peñón de los Baños, which were both originally islands in Lake Texcoco.

[4] The eastern end of Tenochtitlan was associated with docks and markets that handled the produce and other items that came over the Lake's waters into the city from other parts of the Valley of Mexico such as Texcoco, Chalco and Xochimilco.

The eastern end of this city corresponds to the La Merced, San Lázaro and Candelario de los Patos neighborhoods.

However, these areas were overpopulated and un-hygienic because of the low, muddy condition of the lands here next to the lake, constantly subject to flooding.

[4] In the 17th century, the San Lazaro dike continued to define the border of Lake Texcoco with firm land.

However, the process of the lake's desiccation was already evident, expanding the island to allow Mexico City to grow eastward.

One of the roads built on this “new” land was Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza, which today leads to the highway to Puebla and Veracruz.

Most of the industries were initially connected with food processing and other activities related to the La Merced and Jamaica markets.

[4] This would bring the city's limits to Eduardo Molina and Avenida Congreso de la Unión by the beginning of the 20th century.

[4] In 2011, the borough broke the record for the world's largest torta sandwich, which measured fifty meters long, weighed 650 kg (1,433 lb) and was put together in three minutes 57 seconds with seventy different ingredients.

[4] Public high schools of the Instituto de Educación Media Superior del Distrito Federal (IEMS) include:[20] About 54% of the total population twelve or over is economically active.

The outer rim of the circular interior contains ticket counters and boarding areas for bus lines such as Autobuses Unidos.

It is the country's busiest airport with 32 domestic and international airlines and offers direct flights to more than 100 destinations worldwide.

The most important roads include Anillo Periférico, Circuito Interior, Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza and Viaducto Miguel Alemán.

[4][8] The high concentration of people and businesses has resulted in an extensive public transportation network which includes the Mexico City Metro, trolleybuses and various bus lines.