Part 6: Northern Baja California

Spanish version

Baja (Mexican) California, often called simply Baja, is much less known than its Northern counterpart. Few visitors come here, and most of them stay on the beaches of Cabo San Lucaz and Ensenada. Roads to most local attractions are unpaved and bumpy, and distances are considerable. Still, it is possible to see a lot of interesting things here, even on a one-week driving trip (although a combination of a two-week driving trip and a two-week boat cruise of Sea of Cortez would be much better). All photos on this page were obtained in six very busy days in early March. They basically follow the length of the Peninsula from North to South.

Gray thrasher (Toxostoma cinerea), San Telmo.

Northernmost part of Baja is very similar to San Diego area of the US. If you travel along the Pacific coast, you have to drive as far south as San Telmo, 160 km/100 miles from the border, to see Baja endemics such as gray thrasher (left) or Baja kangaroo rat (Dipodomys gravipes).

Baby coastal agave (Agave showi), San Telmo.

Southern alligator lizard (Gerrhonotus multicarinatus), Point Cabrillo.

Mission San Diego, one of many along El Camino Real.

Southern alligator lizard (Gerrhonotus multicarinatus), Point Cabrillo.

Northern tip of the Sea of Cortez has tides up to 7.5 m (25') high, and tidal mudflats up to 1 mile wide. North from San Felipe.

On the Eastern side, things get exciting much sooner. First you cross Colorado River delta, once the most important wetland of the Western North America, now mostly destroyed by US damming obsession. Then you get to the northern tip of the Sea of Cortez, still a major bird wintering area, home of the endemic vaquita porpoise.

California gull (Larus californicus), one of many shorebird species using Baja coasts as wintering or stopover sites. North from San Felipe.

Fishing myotis (Myotis vivens) can be found in rock crevasses on Baja shores, but it requires a lot of effort. Near Loreto.

Islands of the Sea of Cortez are sometimes called "Mexican Galapagos". They have some excellent diving sites, and lots of plants and animals occurring only there, such as black jackrabbit (Lepus insularis), or rattleless rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinae). In addition, many species almost extirpated on the mainland still survive there, such as the unique fishing myotis (left), which now mostly breeds on Isla Partida in storm-petrel colonies, but can occasionally be found on Baja coast.

Marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa) is one of the most abundant wintering shorebirds on Baja coasts. San Felipe.

Yellow-footed gull(L. livens)and brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), Loreto.

These islands are expensive to get to, and I'm yet to visit most of them. Fortunately, seabirds that nest only on Baja islands can often be seen on mainland coasts, and even in Alta California, where one of them - Heermann's gull (right) has recently started breeding.

Heermann's gull (L. heermanni) and brown pelicans, Loreto.

Assorted small seashells from Sea of Cortez beaches.

Flowers, San Felipe Desert near Puertecitos.

San Felipe Desert in northeast Baja, along the Sea of Cortez coast, is the driest and hottest part of North America, but in some springs it has spectacular flower displays, similar to those of Mojave and Sonora.

Flowers, San Felipe Desert near Puertecitos.

Woolly daisy (Eriophyllum wallacei) near San Quintin.

An even better place to see blooming desert in spring is the western coast of Baja south from San Quintin. Many places in the more southern parts of the Peninsula have some beautiful flowers at almost any time of the year.

Baja wallflower (Erysimum arenarius), San Quintin.

Desert flowers of Baja California, left to right: Baja hyacinth (Ornythogalum albus), cave primrose (Primula specuicola), Vizcaino primrose (Oenothera vizcainensis) with common iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum), blue phacelia (Phacelia distans), desert chicory (Rafinesquia neomexicana).

View of the Sea of Cortez from Sierra San Pedro Martyr near the observatory.

The most interesting (and coldest) part of Northern Baja is Sierra San Pedro Martyr National Park, accessible via a very bumpy gravel road from San Telmo.

Picacho del Diablo (3096m/10300'), Baja California's highest peak.

. Pygmy nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea), Sierra San Pedro Martyr.

The park is famous for its vistas (all the way to Deserto del Pinacate National Park in Sonora, Mexico), endemic flora (such as cypress Cypressus arizonica var. montana) and fauna (including trout Oncorhynchus mykiss nelsoni and squirrel Tamiasciurus mearnsii), and for splendid old-growth forests of pines and firs. Unlike similar forests of Sierra Nevada, these forests have never been subjected to fire suppression, so they have more natural, park-like look. Probably because the forest is very open, some arboreal birds, like this pygmy nuthatch (left), often feed on the ground here.

. Coyote (Canis latrans), Sierra San Pedro Martyr.

Brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), Sierra San Pedro Martyr.

Desert cottontail (S. auduboni), San Quintin.

Highlands of Sierra San Pedro Martyr are the southernmost place where many "northern" species occur. For example, brush rabbit (above) is replaced by its relative, desert cottontail rabbit (left) further south and at lower elevations.

Tracks of desert cottontail, Puerto Cancun.

Fire barrel cactus (Ferocactus gracilis), Bahia de los Angeles.

Totem pole cactus (Pachycereus scotti f. monstrosus), Cerro Acho.

Emory'sbarrel cactus (F. emoryi), Isla San Esteban.

San Matias Pass, Sierra S.P.M. Barrel cacti F. fordii, Laguna Chapala.

Steep and dry, eastern slopes of Sierra San Pedro Martyr are one of the best places in Baja to see barrel cactus (Ferocactus spp). Even more spectacular groves of barrel cactus (with 9 endemic species), mixed with numerous other cacti, grow on the hills around Laguna Chapala in the central part of the Peninsula, currently protected as Desierto Central de Baja California Natural Area. This Nature reserve, which stretches from Catavina Boulder Field to Sierra La Primavera, has one of the World's most impressive examples of desert vegetation.

Dry lakebed of Laguna Chapala. Baby barrel cactus F. gracilis, L. Chapala.

Barrel cacti F. cylindraceus growing on rocks, San Matias Pass.

Flowers of barrel cactus F. peninsulae, Laguna Chapala. Barrel cactus F. chrysacanthus, Laguna Chapala.

F. cylindraceus and chollas (Opuntia sp.), San Matias Pass.

Boojums, Catavina. Boojum forest, Catavina.

The most famous plant of Central Baja is almost-endemic boojum tree (Foukuieria columnaris), known to locals as cirio ("large candle"). It was named "boojum" after a character from L. Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark. It's smaller relative, ocotillo, is much more widespread.

Ocotillo (F. splendens), Laguna Chapala. Boojums and cacti, Laguna Chapala.

Young boojums look like giant carrots planted upside down. They start blooming at the height of 1-2 m/3-6', and grow up to 30 m/100'. Laguna Chapala.

Cardon and ocotillo, Catavina.

Another botanical wonder of Baja is cardon (Pachycereus pringlei), world's tallest cactus. It grows throughout most of the peninsula, from El Rosario south, even in the mountains, but the best cardonals (cardon forests) are in Sierra de La Giganta and around Bahia Concepcion.

Cardon, Laguna Chapala.

. Cardonal stretching for hundred miles, Sierra de la Giganta.

Cardon, with our car (white dot) in the background. Laguna Chapala. Other large cacti of Baja include old man (right), candelabra, galloping, and organ pipe cactus (below). Most of them bloom at night, and are pollinated by bats.

. Old man cactus(Lophocereus schottii), Catavina.

Organ pipe cactus (Lemaireocereus thurberi), Catavina.		Galloping cactus (Machaerocereus gummosus), Puerto Cancun.	Candelabra cactus (Myocactus cochal), Puerto Cancun.

Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), Rio Candelaria.	Crested caracaras (Polyborus plancus), Rio Candelaria.	Vicinity of large cacti is often the best place to look for birds. Songbirds, doves, raptors, owls, woodpeckers perch on cardon and organ pipe cacti and nest in/on them.	Blue-graygnutcatcher (Polioptila caerulea), Rio Candelaria.	California gnutcatcher (P. californica), Rio Candelaria.
White-winged dove (Zenaida asiatica), Puerto Cancun.	Cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus), Loreto.	Loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), gilded flicker and gray thrasher, Rio Candelaria.	Costa's hummingbird (Calypte costae)at nest, Guerrero Negro.	Gilded flicker (Colaptes chrysoides), Puerto Cancun.

		Altogether, Baja has 75 cactus species (including about 50 endemics), and most of them are small.
Silver cholla (Opuntia echinocarpa), Catavina.	Teddybear cholla (O. bigelovii), Catavina.		Wolf's cholla (O. wolfi), Catavina.	Mamillaria dioica cactus, San Matias Pass.

Roadside chapel among cardons and boojums, Catavina Boulder Field.

Volcan Las Tres Virgenes (1920m/6,400') had last erupted in 1857.

Elephant tree (Pachycomus discolor) grows on boulders, rocks, and lava flows. Punta Final. Elephant trees and boojums, Catavina.

The most popular place to see the botanical wonders of Baja is Catavina Boulder Field, with its oldgrowth boojum forests. As the rest of of Baja's Central Desert, it is virtually unpopulated, and is an excellent place for trekking, camping, and plant viewing, but finding mammals and other animals here can be difficult. Well, at least it can be accessed via paved road - the Transpeninsular Highway.

False elephant tree, or torote (Bursera microphylla) grows on alluvial soils. Puertecitos. Camping in the desert, Laguna Chapala.

Pincushion cactus (M. roja), Catavina.

Elephant tree bark, Catavina.

Parry's agava (A. parryi), San Quintin.

Ocotillo bark, Volcan las Tres Virgenes.

Flowers of Cochemia sp. cactus, L. Chapala.

Baja brush lizard (Urosaurus lahtelai), Catavina.

Endemic animals of Central Baja often have very small ranges. Baja brush lizard (left) is only known from Catavina Boulder Field, rare Vizcaino thrasher (right) - from barren coastal desert around Vizcaino Peninsula. There are dozens of unique spiders and scorpions, many of them known from only one specimen each.

Vizcaino thrasher (Toxostoma arenicola), Laguna San Ignacio.

Banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus), San Felipe Desert.

Part 7: Southern Baja
Back to Part 5

Home