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The Pacific Coast of Mexico or West Coast of Mexico stretches along the coasts of western Mexico at the Pacific Ocean and its Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez).
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2016) |
The Pacific Coast of Mexico or West Coast of Mexico stretches along the coasts of western Mexico at the Pacific Ocean and its Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez).
On the western Baja California peninsula coast, it extends from the border with the United States at Tijuana in the state of Baja California, south to the tip of the peninsula at Cabo San Lucas in the state of Baja California Sur. On the peninsula's eastern coast it extends from the head of the Gulf of California to Cabo San Lucas.
Along Mexico's western mainland its Pacific Coast extends from the head of the eastern Gulf of California near the Colorado River Delta in the state of Sonora to south of the gulf to the open Pacific, and then further south to the border with Guatemala in the state of Chiapas near Tapachula.
Major Pacific coastal cities include Tijuana, Ensenada, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, and Salina Cruz.
Major ports along the Pacific Coast of Mexico included the Port of Ensenada, the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas, the Port of Chiapas, and the Port of Manzanillo.
By the 8th century in the Acapulco Bay area, there was a small culture first be dominated by the Olmecs, then the Teotihuacan, the Maya, and in 1486 by the Aztec Empire. [1]
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (1519−1521), the Pacific Coast of present-day Mexico was first seen by Europeans at Acapulco Bay. It occurred in either 1523 by explorers sent by Hernán Cortés via land, or in 1526 by Santiago Guevara via ship.
The Augustinian friar and navigator Andrés de Urdaneta had discovered the return Spanish trade route (tornaviaje) from the colonial Philippines to the Pacific Coast of Mexico in 1565, using the Pacific's volta do mar. The Manila-Acapulco Galleons were Spanish trading ships that made round-trip sailing voyages annually across the Pacific Ocean, from the port of Acapulco in the Spanish colonial México to Manila in the Spanish East Indies and back. Both under the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain.
"Manila Galleons" is also used to refer to the trade route between colonial Acapulco and Manila, which lasted from 1565 to 1815.
The Baja California peninsula is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. It separates the Gulf of California from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, in the south.
Baja California, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California. It has an area of 70,113 km2 (27,071 sq mi) and comprises the northern half of the Baja California Peninsula, north of the 28th parallel, plus oceanic Guadalupe Island. The mainland portion of the state is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean; on the east by Sonora, the U.S. state of Arizona, and the Gulf of California; on the north by the U.S. state of California; and on the south by Baja California Sur.
Baja California Sur, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur, is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal entities which comprise the 31 States of Mexico. It is also the ninth-largest Mexican state in terms of area.
La Paz is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. The city had a 2020 census population of 250,141 inhabitants, making it the most populous city in the state. It is in La Paz Municipality, which is the fourth-largest municipality in Mexico in geographical size and reported a population of 292,241 inhabitants on a land area of 20,275 km2 (7,828 sq mi).
The Manila galleon, originally known as La Nao de China, and Galeón de Acapulco, refers to the Spanish trading ships that linked the Spanish Crown's Viceroyalty of New Spain, based in Mexico City, with its Asian territories, collectively known as the Spanish East Indies, across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year between the ports of Acapulco and Manila from the late 16th to early 19th century. The name of the galleon changed to reflect from which city the ship sailed, setting sail from Cavite, in Manila Bay, at the end of June or first week of July, starting the return journey (tornaviaje) from Acapulco in March–April of the next calendar year, and returning to Manila in June–July.
Ensenada is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on the Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the third-largest city in Baja California. The city is an important international trade center and home to the Port of Ensenada, the second-busiest port in Mexico. Ensenada is a major tourist destination, owing to its warm climate and proximity to the Pacific Ocean, and is commonly known as La Cenicienta del Pacífico.
Rosarito is a coastal city in Playas de Rosarito Municipality, Baja California, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. As of 2010, the city had a population of 65,278. Located 10 miles (16 km) south of the US-Mexico border, Rosarito is a part of the greater San Diego–Tijuana region and one of the westernmost cities in Mexico. Rosarito is a major tourist destination, known for its beaches, resorts, and events like Baja Beach Fest.
The human history of the west coast of North America is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait, or alternately along a now-submerged coastal plain, through the development of significant pre-Columbian cultures and population densities, to the arrival of the European explorers and colonizers. The west coast of North America today is home to some of the largest and most important companies in the world, as well as being a center of world culture.
Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548–1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Asia.
Los Cabos is a municipality located at the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, in the state of Baja California Sur. It encompasses the two towns of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo linked by a thirty-two-km Resort Corridor of beach-front properties and championship golf courses.
Federal Highway 1 is a free (libre) part of the federal highway corridors of Mexico, and the highway follows the length of the Baja California Peninsula from Tijuana, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, in the south. The road connects with Via Rapida, which merges into the American Interstate 5 (I-5) at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which crosses the international border south of San Ysidro, California.
Mulegé is the northernmost municipality of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is the largest municipality by area in the state and in Mexico, with an area of 33,092.20 km2. In the 2020 Census, it had a population of 64,022 inhabitants. Isla Natividad is part of the municipality.
Federal Highway 1D is a tolled part of the Mexico Federal Highways, paralleling Fed. 1. There are two segments, one in the state of Baja California and another in the state of Baja California Sur.
Hurricane Henriette was a minimal Category 1 hurricane that affected portions of Mexico in late August and early September 2007. The storm, which caused nine fatalities, formed from an area of disturbed weather on August 30, 2007, and became a tropical storm the next day. The cyclone moved parallel to the Mexican Pacific coast, but its proximity to the shore resulted in heavy rainfall over land. The most affected city was Acapulco, Guerrero, where six people were killed by landslides, and where over 100 families had to be evacuated after the La Sabana River flooded. Henriette then turned north and headed towards the Baja California peninsula, and became a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Henriette made its first landfall east of Cabo San Lucas at peak intensity, causing the death of one woman due to high surf.
Hurricane Greg was the only eastern Pacific tropical cyclone in 1999 to make a direct landfall. Part of the annual hurricane season, Greg originated from a tropical wave that departed Africa in mid-August. The wave entered the eastern Pacific by September 1, steadily organizing over subsequent days to become a tropical depression on September 5. Amid a favorable environment, the cyclone intensified into Tropical Storm Greg a few hours after formation and further organized into a Category 1 hurricane on September 6. Greg paralleled the southwestern coastline of Mexico, where it destroyed over 250 homes, cut-off roads, killed 10 people, and left at least 4,000 more injured. The storm weakened to tropical storm intensity as it moved ashore Baja California Sur, although rain was generally beneficial there. Succumbing to cooler waters and high wind shear, Greg ultimately dissipated over the Pacific on September 9. Its remnants led to thunderstorms across northern California, with only minor impacts.
The Pacific Naval Force is the Mexican Navy's presence in the Pacific Ocean. Its headquarters is in Manzanillo, Colima. The Pacific Naval Force was created in the same date as its Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea counterpart on February 11, 1972. The Surface ships are the main components of The Naval Force and is the means to secure and to operate sea control in strategic areas. Main objectives of the Naval force is to Defend the sovereignty and integrity of Mexico from sea, protect vital naval installations, protect human life and maintain marine traffic and maintain the rule of law in national waters.
Mexico–Philippines relations are the bilateral relations of the United Mexican States and the Republic of the Philippines. Mexico and the Philippines share a common history dating from when both countries were part of the Spanish Empire as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Both nations are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Association of Academies of the Spanish Language and the United Nations.
Hurricane Odile is tied for the most intense landfalling tropical cyclone in the Baja California Peninsula during the satellite era. Sweeping across the peninsula in September 2014, Odile inflicted widespread damage, particularly in the state of Baja California Sur, in addition to causing lesser impacts on the Mexican mainland and Southwestern United States. The precursor to Odile developed into a tropical depression south of Mexico on September 10 and quickly reached tropical storm strength. After meandering for several days, Odile began to track northwestward, intensifying to hurricane status before rapidly reaching its Category 4 hurricane peak intensity on September 14. The cyclone slightly weakened before making landfall near Cabo San Lucas with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h). Odile gradually weakened as it tracked across the length of the Baja California Peninsula, briefly crossing into the Gulf of California before degenerating into a remnant system on September 17. These remnants tracked northeastward across the Southwestern United States before they were no longer identifiable on September 19.
Hurricane Newton was the first tropical cyclone to make landfall on the Baja California Peninsula at hurricane strength since Hurricane Odile in 2014. The fifteenth tropical depression, fifteenth named storm and ninth hurricane of the 2016 Pacific hurricane season, Newton formed from a tropical wave to the south of Mexico on September 4, 2016. Moving northwards through an environment conducive for additional development, Newton rapidly strengthened, reaching hurricane strength on the following day. Newton made landfall on the Baja California Peninsula just below peak strength on the same day. Interaction with the mountainous terrain of the peninsula caused some slight weakening, but Newton remained a hurricane till it entered the Gulf of California. Increasing wind shear caused Newton to weaken at a faster pace, and the system made landfall in Sonora late on September 6 as a strong tropical storm. The cyclone continued to rapidly weaken over the rugged terrain of Sonora, and it degenerated into a remnant low just south of the Mexico–United States border on September 7. The remnants of Newton dissipated early on the following day.