The Chinampas of Xochimilco

An ancestral agriculture system rich in biodiversity near Mexico City.

All photos of Xochimilco’s chinampas by Nicholas Gill.

Inside Mexico City’s Museo Nacional de Antropología, Luis Covarrubias’ painting Gran Tenochtitlan en 1519 shows the city of Tenochtitlan, situated in what is now the center of Mexico City, at the height of Aztec rule. The artwork shows what appears to be a compact, bustling city lost within the blue …