Bahía de los Ángeles

Bahía de los Ángeles
From top down: Cityscape, Punta Areanas Lighthouse, Harbor View, Sail Sculpture, Dolphins, Museo de Naturaleza y Cultura, Sunrise over Cabeza de Caballo, Sunset to the West, Local Mural
Nickname(s): Bay of L.A., L.A. Bay
Bahía de los Ángeles Location in Mexico
Coordinates: 28°56′53″N 113°33′37.44″W / 28.94806°N 113.5604°W / 28.94806; -113.5604
Country	Mexico
State	Baja California
Municipality	Ensenada
Established (Spain)	1746
Elevation	26 ft (8 m)
Population (2010)
• City	590
• Urban	0
Time zone	Northwest (US PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Northwest (UTC-7)
Website	http://www.bahiadelosangeles.info/

Bahía de los Ángeles ("Bay of the Angels") is a coastal bay on the Sea of Cortez, located along the eastern shore of the Baja California Peninsula in the state of Baja California, Mexico. The town of the same name is located at the east end of Federal Highway 12 about 42 miles (68 km) from the Parador Punta Prieta junction on Federal Highway 1.^[1]

History

The area was home to the Cochimí people, the aboriginal inhabitants of the central part of the Baja California peninsula.

In 1539 Francisco de Ulloa was the first European to discover the Bahía de los Angeles in what was the last expedition financed by Hernán Cortés.^[2] The area was explored again in 1746 by Fernando Consag during his attempt to investigate the disputed question of whether or not Baja California was an island.^[3] In 1752 a loading dock was built to explore Mission San Borja, and the entire Baja California Peninsula. In 1900 it became an important loading dock to export gold and silver obtained from the mines of Sierra San Borja, San Juan, and Santa Martha. The value of the gold produced by the mine of San Juan is estimated to be about 2 million U.S. dollars.

In his book, The Log from the Sea of Cortez, author John Steinbeck wrote of his stay in Bahía de los Ángeles, the last stop on the peninsula before rounding Isla Ángel de la Guarda.^[4]

Bahia is also the home of the "Museo de Naturaleza y Cultura", established in 1988, by an American named Carolina Shepard and built by volunteers. It is a simple building decorated with reproductions of local cave paintings and located near the town square and municipal offices. It houses an eclectic collection of artifacts ranging from mining equipment and Indian artifacts to examples of local marine life and photographs of notable historical citizens. A 30 foot-long skeleton of a juvenile gray whale, assembled by students from Ensenada, hangs from the ceiling. Of the 600 species of shells in the Sea of Cortés, the museum's collection contains 500. There is even a photograph of Mama Diaz next to Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh had stopped in 1965 on his way to Laguna San Ignacio to see the gray whales.^{[5] [6]}

Geography

The area has a desert climate. At the north end of the bay lies Punta la Gringa and to the south is Playa Rincon. There are 16 islands off the coast.^[7] On the eastern horizon lies Isla Ángel de la Guarda separated from the other islands by the Canal de las Ballenas. To the west are the Sierra de San Borja responsible for the occasional hot, dry winds known locally as "Westies" which can go from zero to over 50 knots in a matter of minutes.^[8]

Safe harbor at Puerto Don Juan

There is a lighthouse located on Isla Cabeza de Caballo, an island in the center of the channel into the town. A second lighthouse is located at the entrance to the harbor on Punta Areanas, a sand spit partially sheltering the waterfront of Bahía.^[9]

Bahia is notable as an anchorage and safe harbor. The nearby Don Juan Cove is another ideal safe harbor.

Biosphere Reserve

In 2007 Mexican President Felipe Calderón in cooperation with the nongovernmental organization Pronatura Noroeste, Mexico’s National Commission for Protected Areas, the Global Conservation Fund (GCF) and others established the Bahía de los Ángeles Biosphere Reserve to protect the unique ecology of the region. It covers an area of almost 1500 square miles (387,956 hectares) and includes a portion of the Baja coastline, all 16 islands, numerous smaller islands and islets and the Canal de Salsipuedes and Canal de las Ballenas.^[10][11][12] The reserve protects a diverse marine population including many endangered species including whale sharks, fin whales, California sea lions and five species of sea turtle.^[13]

Economy

Overfishing of the region has made it increasingly difficult for residents to support themselves. The local economy is shifting from commercial fishing to guided sports fishing and other forms of tourism. Bahia is home to perhaps a dozen pangueros who specialize in sport fishing.^[8] Before the highway into the area was paved, the town was known as a transit point for drugs on the on the way to the U.S.A. In 2007, power lines from Guerrero Negro were finished, ending reliance on diesel generators.^[2] There is internet access via satellite. Every other year the Baja 1000 passes through town.^[14] The Bahía de los Ángeles Airport is just north of the town.

Tourism

Bay of LA is popular for activities such as kayaking, wind surfing, and tourism in addition to being a sports fisherman's paradise. Bahia is famous for its fabulous fishing. The most common game fish being Yellowtail (Jurel), a type of sport fish that lives off the shore of California and Mexico. Yellowtail from this region can grow up to 5 feet long and can weigh up to 100 pounds. Other sport fish from this region include Seabass (Cabrilla), Snapper (Pargo), Grouper, Sierra, Bonito and the occasional Dorado. Non-sport fish like Triggerfish, Barracuda and others exist in abundance. There are colonies of sea lions near Isla Coronado known locally as "Smith Island", and another South of Punta Animas.^[7] The bay is also famous for its Whale Sharks with 20 to 30 visiting the area each summer.^[15]

About 15 - 20 miles west of town are the prehistoric rock paintings of Montevideo, part of the Great Mural region considered to be one of the most important archaeological sites in Baja California.^[16] Known officially as Pinturas Rupestres de Valle Montevideo they are estimated to be 10,000 years old.^[3]

Conservation

Marine biologist Antonio Resendiz runs a sea turtle research facility north of town. The area around Bahia de los Angeles provide nesting grounds for many species of sea turtles. Since 1979 the officially named "Centro Regional de Investigacion Pesquera (CRIP)" has conducted sea turtle research and conservation. Antonio, who studied marine biology at the University of Ensenada, established the research station first with the help of the Mexican Instituto de Pesca and later through the help of an american biochemist named Dr. Grant Bartlett. Tours of the research station are available to the public. Antonio made news in 1995 when one of his turtles, a 213 pound loggerhead named Rosita, was discovered off the coast of Japan by local fishermen. The discovery established the migration path of loggerheads for the first time.^[6][17]

See also

• Bahía de los Angeles, Canal de Ballenas y Salsipuedes

Panoramic view upon arrival at Bahia de Los Angeles with Isla Ángel de la Guarda on the horizon.

• Valle De Los Cirios Flora And Fauna Protection Area

References

• 2010 census tables: INEGI

Coordinates: 28°57′N 113°33′W / 28.95°N 113.55°W / 28.95; -113.55