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| Geography of Baja California Sur | |
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Baja California Sur is located in the northwest corner of Mexico,[1] and occupies slightly more than the southern half of the Baja peninsula, which is the longest peninsula in the world. Surrounded almost entirely by sea, Baja California Sur is very isolated. It is separated from the continent by a sea that is difficult to sail and two deserts that are difficult to cross. Air traffic is still limited. The state covers 45,655 square miles (including the islands), accounting for 3.7% of the country’s total area. In the north, the Vizcaino desert is adjacent to the state of Baja California; in the east, it is bordered by the Gulf of California, and in the west and south, by the Pacific Ocean. It is the longest coastal state, with 1,367 miles of coastline, which is 22% of the country’s total.[2] Baja California Sur is divided into four geographic sub-provinces: the desert of Vizcaino, the Sierra de la Giganta, the plains of Magdalena, and the region of Los Cabos. Along the peninsula, parallel to the coastline of Sonora and Sinaloa across the Gulf, runs a mountain range of up to 9,842 feet above sea level in the northern part and up to 6,562 feet in the southern part. Several volcanic mountain complexes form this mountain range, including La Sierra de San Francisco, Guadalupe, La Giganta, and La Laguna. |
The state’s climate is primarily arid, although some tropical and sub-tropical conditions occur. The weather is warm and dry, with temperatures in the summer that can reach 122º Fahrenheit (50º Celsius). The average annual rainfall is 9.84 inches. This rainfall usually occurs during winter hurricanes (accounting for 20% of total rainfall) and summer tropical storms. Since winter rain is less violent, it recharges groundwater more easily. Rainfall is the only source of water in the entire state.[3] The abundance of these groundwater recharge areas has created 171 oases, sustaining life for people, plants, and animals. In these oases, there is a magnification of cultural patterns dominated by isolation, endemics, and the existence of relict species, which give the oases an exceptional value. The weather in Baja California Sur has a huge impact on travel and commerce and puts enormous pressure on aging infrastructure in municipal and rural areas of the state. From 1949 to 1997, 667 cyclones formed in the Mexican Pacific Ocean; an average of fifteen touched land every year. Between 1954 and 1997, 45 depressions and tropical cyclones affected Baja California Sur, mainly in the southern half of the state. Tropical storms (or hurricanes) affect the Gulf of California region every year. These storms may be beneficial for agriculture because they refill the aquifers, but they also represent major hazards for the state. Strong winds and intense rainfall cause impassable water channels that destroy river and stream beds, paralyze highways, roadways, and airports, flood homes and businesses, and damage power lines and other important infrastructure. Economic repercussions are inevitable, since damage to housing, infrastructure, production means, transportation, and the natural environment has short and long-term consequences.[4] |
[1] Between 28º00’00” and 22º52’17”, North latitude and 109º24’47” and 115º04’53” West longitude, Government of the state of BCS, Programa Estratégico de Ordenamiento Territorial, [State Territory Regulation Program] (PEOT), digital version, p.8. [2] Gob. Del estado de BCS, Dir. De Planeación,. Programas de Desarrollo Regional 2001, ´[Regional development Programs 2001], La Paz, BCS., pp. 1-3. [3]Comisión Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas [National Commission of Protected Natural Areas] (CONANP), Programa de Manejo Complejo Insular del Espiritu Santo Mexico [Program of complex insular management of Espiritu Santo], SEMARNAT, Mexico D.F. 2000, p. 51. [4] Gob. Del Estado de BCS, PEOT, Op. Cit., p. 18. |
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