Chat in Xochimilco

The lake of Xochimilco is one of the five lakes that form the lacustrine basin of the Valley of Mexico, in the center of the Mexican Republic. Although at present it is reduced to a few channels that irrigate the northern half of the Xochimilco delegation and the west of Tláhuac, its surface covered an important part of what is now Iztapalapa and Coyoacán. The lake of Xochimilco was connected with two other bodies of water in the system. To the north, a strait that separated the Cerro de la Estrella and the alluvial plain of Churubusco communicated with the lake of Texcoco.

To the east, the limit with Lake Chalco was formed by the island of Tláhuac and the strait that separated Tlaltenco from Tulyehualco. Unlike Lake Texcoco, whose waters were brackish, the lakes of Xochimilco and Chalco, in the south of the basin, were formed by fresh water. This does not mean that this water was drinkable, since in the lake many aquatic vegetal species grew that gave him bad flavor and worse color. The main water use of Lake Xochimilco was agricultural. In the Mesoamerican Pre-Classic period this lake was the main supplier of vegetables in the south of Mexico City for its farmland on the surface of the lake that are also part of the emblematic stamp of the indigenous culture and tradition of the lake. In this lake began to develop the cultivation system known as chinampa, which is still used today.

The chinampas consist of a kind of artificial islands built with stakes of hollows and tuts, on which silt was deposited from the bottom of the lake. This provided them with a unique fertility that allowed the collection of several annual crops. The Xochimilco lake was fed by the waters of numerous springs that descended from the Ajusco-Chichinauhtzin mountain range and the Teuhtli volcano. However, from the Porfiriato, the springs were channeled to supply water to Mexico City. By the same time, the works of the Grand Canal del Desagüe were completed, which ended up draining large areas of lake vessels in central Mexico, a process that was not exempt from Lake Xochimilco. It was also during this period that, in order to stimulate the tourist character of Xochimilco, plant and animal species were introduced that seriously endangered the survival of native species such as the axolote and the tule.

At present, it is reduced to channels that are fed with treated water from the hill of the star. The environmental problems of Xochimilco were not given due attention until the end of the 1980s. In 1987, the Xochimilco chinampas They were declared Cultural Patrimony of Humanity by Unesco. Currently the bad management of solid waste, the use of pesticides and the discharges of black water in an irregular manner have caused severe damage to the lake, taking away the splendor that it had long ago, besides affecting the endemic flora and fauna and, finally, putting at risk its international qualification of cultural heritage of humanity.

29000, El Magueyito

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Xochimilco

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