Chinampa

Chinampa is a term of the Aztec referring to small areas of fertile land for agriculture, made from the mud of water canals. The word comes from the Nahuatl word chinamitl which means square made of canes. Such gardens sometimes develop into islands as roots from them connect with the lake bottom.

"In prehispanic times, Chinampas where squares made of canes covered by dirt, used to grow maize, beans etc., floating on the Texcoco lake, which surrounded Tenochtitlan, now Mexico city. In Xochimilco Chinampas can still be seen today.