Description
Often referred to as "floating gardens," chinampas were artificial islands that usually measured roughly 30 m × 2.5 m (98 ft × 8.2 ft). Chinampas were used by the ancient Aztec Indians. In Tenochtitlan, the chinampas ranged from 300 ft × 15 ft (91 m × 4.6 m) to 300 ft × 30 ft (91 m × 9.1 m) They were created by staking out the shallow lake bed and then fencing in the rectangle with wattle. The fenced-off area was then layered with mud, lake sediment, and decaying vegetation, eventually bringing it above the level of the lake. Often trees such as āhuexōtl (Salix bonplandiana) and āhuēhuētl (Taxodium mucronatum) were planted at the corners to secure the chinampa. Chinampas were separated by channels wide enough for a canoe to pass. These "islands" had very high crop yields with up to four crops a year.
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