An elderly farmer hangs plastic flags on his chinampa, or floating garden, to scare the birds away in Xochimilco, Mexico City.


An elderly farmer hangs plastic flags on his chinampa, or floating garden, to scare the birds away in San Gregorio Atlapulco village in Xochimilco, southern May 23, 2008. The water canals and gardens in Xochimilco was once part of the Americas breadbaskets and the agricultural hub of Tenochtitlán Aztec empire. The water canals surround raised fields called "chinampas," likened to floating gardens, and were the most productive means of agricultural production when the Valley of Mexico was wetland. The floating gardens are anchored to the lake bottom by trees planted along the edges of the fields. In the Aztec's Náhuatl language the word Xochimilco means "garden of flowers." Photo/Chico Sanchez


Size: 5120px × 3413px
Location: Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico
Photo credit: © Chico Sanchez / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: agriculture, america, atlapulco, canal, canals, chinampa, chinampas, city, destination, eco-tour, eco-tourism, eco-tourist, eco-tourists, eco-tours, elderly, exterior, farmer, farmers, farming, floating, gregorio, lake, mexico, nature, north, outdoors, san, tourism, tourists, travel, water, xochimilco