Tlaloc

<div style="background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(top, black 20%, #EA900E 80%); background-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,black), color-stop(100%, #EA900E)); background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, black 0%, #EA900E 100%); background-image: -o-linear-gradient(top, black 0%, #EA900E 100%); background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(top, black 0%, #EA900E 100%); margin:5px 0 10px 0; padding:10px; border:2px solid white; border-radius:25px; font-size:130%; color:#FFF; text-shadow:1px 1px 4px #000; padding:10px"> Tlaloc is a member of the pantheon of gods in Aztec religion. As supremegod of the rain, Tlaloc is also a god of earthly fertility and of water.

His body was likened to that of the crocodile: the ridges of his back were associated with the mountains and ravines, and he was said to float on the primordial saltwater sea. The Tlaloques were "rain dwarfs"; namely, lesser deities associated with various weather such as snow, sleet, and lightning.

He was widely worshiped as a beneficent giver of life and sustenance. However,

he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder, and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water.

Tlaloc is also associated with caves, springs, and mountains, most specifically the sacred mountain in which he was believed to reside.

His animal forms include herons and water-dwelling creatures such as amphibians, snails, and possibly sea creatures, particularly shellfish.

The cult of Tlaloc is one of the oldest and most universal in ancient Mexico. Although the name Tlaloc is specifically Aztec, worship of a storm god like Tlaloc, associated with mountaintop shrines and with life-giving rain, is as at least as old as Teotihuacan and likely was adopted from the Maya god Chaac or vice versa, or perhaps he was ultimately derived from an earlier Olmec precursor.