former Lake Chalco

E51478

Former Lake Chalco was one of the shallow lakes that once covered part of the southern Valley of Mexico, historically important for its chinampa (floating garden) agriculture before being largely drained in the colonial and modern periods.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Lake Chalco 1

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf endorheic lake
former lake
geographical feature
associatedWith Chalco Valley
Chalco
surface form: Chalco region
causeOfDrainage agricultural land reclamation
flood control projects
urban expansion
climateZone highland subtropical
country Mexico
culturalSignificance center of chinampa technology development
important for pre-Hispanic food production
depth shallow
drainageStatus largely drained
drainedDuring colonial period
modern period
elevation Mexican Plateau
environmentType wetland (historical)
foodSource aquatic birds (historical)
fish (historical)
historicalPeriod Aztec Empire
Pre-Columbian era
surface form: Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica
hydrologicalSystem closed basin
impactOfDrainage decline of traditional chinampa agriculture
loss of wetland ecosystems
knownFor chinampa agriculture
floating gardens
languageOfToponym Nahuatl
locatedIn Valley of Mexico
Central Mexico
surface form: southern Valley of Mexico
locatedInAdministrativeEntity State of Mexico
locatedNear Lake Xochimilco
Mexico City
former Lake Texcoco
former Lake Xaltocan
former Lake Zumpango
partOf lacustrine system of the Valley of Mexico
southern lake zone of the Valley of Mexico
presentDayLandUse agricultural fields
infrastructure
urban areas
transportRole canoe navigation (historical)
usedBy Aztec Empire
surface form: Aztec civilization

Nahua
surface form: Nahua peoples
usedFor flower cultivation
intensive agriculture
maize cultivation
vegetable cultivation
waterType freshwater

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Lake Texcoco adjacentTo former Lake Chalco
this entity surface form: Lake Chalco
former Lake Zumpango connectedTo former Lake Chalco
subject surface form: Former Lake Zumpango
Valley of Mexico contains former Lake Chalco