Chinampa Floating Farmland

Timeline

1. c. 1300–1428Around Lake Texcoco · Valley of MexicoValley city-states built rectangular fenced fields in areas of receding lake water and marshland, using organic-rich lakebed silt and stable water sources to achieve high-yield agriculture with multiple harvests per year.
2. 1428–1521Lake zones around Tenochtitlan · MexicoDuring the period of the Triple Alliance, chinampa area expanded greatly, with estimated annual yields of maize and other crops reaching millions of tons, transported by canal into the capital, forming the core technological basis of the empire's food security.
3. 1521–1900Valley of Mexico · MexicoColonial authorities drained most of the lakes, and large numbers of chinampas were converted to dry land or disappeared; surviving lake zones such as Xochimilco still preserve traditional cultivation, with crops shifting to flowers and vegetables for urban markets.
4. c. 1987Xochimilco · MexicoThe Xochimilco World Heritage site protects the surviving chinampa landscape, and scholars regard it as a model of sustainable, high-yield ancient ecological agriculture with reference value for contemporary urban agriculture and wetland conservation.