The chinampas were extensive floating gardens south of Mexico City. Canals traversed the shallow waters between islands that were carefully tended and yielded many crops a year in the warm, well-watered climate. This sustainable landscape was enhanced by its human users, who added night soil to the floating gardens to and encouraged the growth of floating ferns in the waterways, which live symbiotically with bacteria that add nitrogen to the aquatic environment. Remains of the chinampas can still be seen in Xoximilco (see other photos in this set).
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