Altogether, it took more than million square feet 21 million square meters of relocated soil — plus 10 million work hours — to assemble the island. In their own way, Aztec chinampas were no less impressive. Clustered together in wetland areas, individual chinampas were bordered by mud-based walls reinforced with aquatic plants.
Between these ran a grid-like canal system. Before construction began, it was sometimes necessary to drain — and then refill — an entire swamp or lake using narrow ditches. The effort was worthwhile. On a well-irrigated chinampa network, fruits, flowers and vegetables like corn could be grown all year-round.
And by raising individual islands high above the water level, farmers could keep the roots of their precious crops from getting oversaturated. Chinampas are still used today. Every weekend, tourists flock to the "floating gardens" of Xochimilco, a borough of Mexico City. Here, leisurely boat rides are offered on a historic canal system loaded with modern chinampas.
Upon those rectangular isles, farmers cultivate lettuce heads, radishes and other kinds of produce. How the Big Apple got its anthropogenic islands is a very different story. One of them was by accident. Back in the s, a pile of discarded rubble slowly congregated in the middle of the East River while a tunnel was being constructed beneath that waterway.
Eventually, the stack of rocks got tall enough to break the river's surface and become Belmont Island. Also called U Thant Island albeit, unofficially , it measures a scant feet wide by feet long Erected in the s, they were conceived as quarantine zones for immigrants of poor or questionable health.
Those twin islands were built with sediments dredged up from New York Harbor. The basic strategy is alive and well. Off the coast of Dubai, Nakheel Properties has been developing artificial archipelagos designed to look like giant halo-ringed palm trees when seen from above.
The first, known as the Palm Jumeriah, is open for business, boasting waterparks, spas and luxury hotels — to say nothing of its 10,plus residents. A whopping 3.
With more trash comes more disease and soon enough New York had its first sanitation crisis on its hands. They piled trash and earth into the pond and built a canal to drain the Collect into the East River. The waterway was itself filled in to create a new road: Canal Street. Manhattan has continued to grow along with its population. I can get this lawsuit dropped and give you the moral support I had to go back and ask if we could get this thing back together.
I gave the team 10 days and, ultimately, everyone was great about coming back. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
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