Bahía de Banderas (,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for ''Bay of Flags'') is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, within the Mexican states of

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

and

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

. It is also the name of an administrative municipality, located on the bay in Nayarit state. The port and resort city of Puerto Vallarta is on the bay.

Geology

The Bahía de Banderas is regarded by most geologists as the original attachment point for the southern cape of the Baja California Peninsula before it was rifted off the North American Plate millions of years ago, forming the Gulf of California.

Geography

The Bahía de Banderas (Banderas Bay) on the Pacific Ocean is bounded on the north by

Punta Mita Punta Mita is a private peninsula that is home to the Four Seasons Punta Mita, St. Regis Punta Mita, and 16 sub-communities. Punta Mita is located on the north end of Banderas Bay in the Mexican state of Nayarit, about north of Puerto Valla ...

(''Mita Point''), and on the south by Cabo Corrientes (''Cape Corrientes''). Its coastline is approximately long. Though locally regarded so, it is not the largest bay in Mexico. Tourism is very important to the local economies, and the Bahía de Banderas coast is an important location of tourist facilities development in both states. Puerto Vallarta has been the longstanding primary resort destination and cruise ship port of the bay. However, beyond the city on the long coastline, other attractive beaches and landscapes have since been developed to serve visitors. Bahía de Banderas (Banderas Bay) is also an important breeding and birthing ground for the

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

. Unlike the rest of the municipalities of Nayarit, Bahía de Banderas follows the Central Time Zone, as used in the neighboring municipality of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. This is in order to allow for greater integration with the touristic region of Puerto Vallarta, as well as to prevent time zone confusions that could lead to missed flights on account of the local airport being across the state border in Puerto Vallarta. This time zone is represented in the Olson database as ''America/Bahia_Banderas''.

Municipality

The Municipality of Bahía de Banderas in Nayarit state has a total area of 773.3 km². It was created in 1989. Its westernmost headland is

, to the south it is on the Bahía de Banderas, and northwards it is on the open Pacific Ocean. The municipality had a population of 83,739 in 2005 (59,808 in 2000). The long valley of Banderas, and abundance of water, allow for extensive cattle raising. The mountains contain an important ecological reserve in the eastern section. By Decree number 7261, issued on 11 December 1989 by the Congress of the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit, the new municipality of Bahía de Banderas was created, which would separate it territorially from the municipality of Compostela, becoming part of the political division of the state of Nayarit as municipality number 20.

Location

The municipality of Bahía de Banderas borders Compostela in Nayarit to the north; the municipalities of Puerto Vallarta and

San Sebastián del Oeste San Sebastián del Oeste () is a town and municipality, located on the western part of Jalisco state, Mexico, between 20°39’45’’ - 21°02’30’’ N and 104°35’00’’ - 104°51’00’’ W, at a height of 1,480 metres (4,856 ...

, both in

, to the south, the southeast, and the east; and the Bahía de Banderas and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Towns

The municipal seat is the town of

Valle de Banderas Valle de Banderas () is a town in the state of Nayarit, Mexico. It is the administrative seat of the surrounding municipality of Bahía de Banderas. Geography Valle de Banderas, locally known as El Valle, is a small town is located at the foot ...

, with a population of 5,057 in 2005. Other towns are San Juan de Abajo (8,159), Bucerías (5,711), San José del Valle (5,188), San Vicente (3,543), and Jarretaderas (3,426).

Economy

The municipality's economy is based on tourism, sea fishing, and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. The main crops are

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

(maize),

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...

, sorghum,

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus ''Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the chie ...

, rice, watermelon and mango. Exotic fruits like papaya,

litchi Lychee (US: ; UK: ; ''Litchi chinensis''; ) is a monotypic taxon and the sole member in the genus ''Litchi'' in the soapberry family, ''Sapindaceae''. It is a tropical tree native to Southeast and Southwest China (the Guangdong, Fujian, Y ...

, and guanábana are also grown. Most of the planted area is irrigated. There are several packing houses for papaya and other fruits.

Government

Municipal presidents

References

External links

VirtualVallarta.com: Banderas Bay (''Bahía de Banderas'')INEGI — National statistics

{{Authority control Banderas Landforms of Jalisco Landforms of Nayarit Puerto Vallarta Municipalities of Nayarit