| The chinampas started as reclamation measures to drain swampy areas in the Valley of Mexico, a basin which had no exterior drainage.
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| I've had the privilege of visiting the chinampas of Xochimilco on several occasions, and exploring deep inside to see the last few agricultural chinampas that still produce food for the market. |
| Here ingenuity led to more advanced ways of growing food, by covering rafts of branches and roots with earth to create chinampas or floating gardens. |
| By the end of the 16th century, they filled in many of the chinampas and canals, expanded the island's land area, and built elevated roadways. |
| The chinampas were an ingenious solution to a dilemma that had vexed the inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico for more than a millennium. |
| The chinampas were rectangular raised platforms built on a strong framework of posts, sticks, and tree branches anchored firmly to the lake bed and filled with earth. |
