Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in

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 ...

) is an island in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

belonging to the state of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which includes the area of several small nearby islands. Cedros Island is mountainous, reaching a maximum elevation of . The economy is based on commercial fishing and salt production. Cedros has a distinctive flora and the traces of some of the earliest human beings in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

. The ocean around the island is popular with sport fishermen. There was human presence of the island already about 11,000 years ago. The American Indian inhabitants when the island was first visited by Spanish explorers in the 16th century called it Huamalgua, the "Island of Fogs." The Indian inhabitants have been given the name Huamalgueños by modern day scholars. They were relocated to the mainland of Baja California by Jesuit missionaries in 1732 and ceased to exist as an identifiable people.

Geography

Cedros Island is located in

Ensenada Municipality The municipality ( es, link=no, municipio) of Ensenada is the fourth-largest municipality in Mexico with a land area of in 2020, about the same size as Hidalgo state and larger than five Mexican states. Located offshore, Cedros Island and G ...

, off the west coast of the Mexican state of

, from which it is separated by

Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay (Spanish: ''Bahía de Sebastián Vizcaíno'') is a prominent bay along the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula in northwestern Mexico. It is named after explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno. Geography The bay lies on ...

. It is northwest of Punta Eugenia in

Mulegé Municipality Mulegé is a city in Mulegé Municipality, Baja California Sur, situated on the Gulf of California. Located on the Gulf of California, the population was 3,821 according to the Mexican census of 2010. History Indigenous peoples had lived in ...

- the westernmost point of the state of Baja California Sur mainland. It also lies north of Isla Natividad (off Punta Eugenia, and also part of Mulegé Municipality) from which it is separated by the Canal de Keller, and some from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

. The island has an area of , being the fourth-largest island in Mexico (following Tiburón Island,

Isla Ángel de la Guarda Isla Ángel de la Guarda, (Guardian Angel Island) also called Archangel Island, is a large island in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) east of Bahía de los Ángeles in northwestern Mexico, separated from the Baja California Peninsula by the ...

, and

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucat� ...

). It has a maximum length of approximately , and a maximum width of about . Between Cedros Island and Isla Natividad runs the 28th parallel north, which defines the border between the Mexican states of

and Baja California Sur. The

Islas San Benito The Islas San Benito lie in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the Mexican state of Baja California, 25 km west of Cedros Island. They are part of the Cedros Island ''delegación'', a subdivision of Ensenada (municipality), Baja Califo ...

to the west, about west and in area, are administratively part of Cedros Island. The ''Isla de Cedros'' was named by early Spanish explorers who mistakenly associated the large amounts of redwood and

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

driftwood __NOTOC__ Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides shelter and fo ...

arriving with the California current for local

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

s visible on the crest of the island. The two main elevations are Cedros hill, located at the south-center of the island, and Pico Gill to the north.

Climate

Cedros Island has a desert climate, BWh in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system and BWab (desert, hot summers, warm winters) in the

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...

. Most precipitation occurs during the winter. The only weather station on the island is located on the southeastern coast. The northern and western parts of the island are several degrees cooler because the cold waters surrounding the island cause heavy fog and clouds, especially during spring and summer. The condensation from the fog permits lusher vegetation to flourish, similar to the "fog oases" (

lomas Lomas (Spanish for "hills"), also called fog oases and mist oases, are areas of fog-watered vegetation in the coastal desert of Peru and northern Chile. About 100 lomas near the Pacific Ocean are identified between 5°S and 30°S latitude, a nort ...

) of the arid Pacific Coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. Precipitation is also greater at the higher elevations of the island, reaching possible annual totals of . Rarely, heavy rains caused by unstable tropical air masses and

chubasco A chubasco is a violent squall with thunder and lightning, encountered during the rainy season along the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word chubasco has its origins in the Portuguese word '' chuva'' which means r ...

s cause flooding.

Population and settlements

It constitutes one of the 24 subdivisions (''delegaciones'') of the

municipio ' (, ) and ' () are country subdivisions in Italy and several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or ...

of Ensenada. The 2005 census showed a total population of 1,350 persons. The

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

"seat" is Cedros, also known as Isla Cedros or Cedros town ("Pueblo Cedros"), on the southeast coast. The town was founded by fishermen in 1922, and in 2010 the town had a population of 747 people. The local economy is dependent on fishing, and largely associated with ''Pescadores Nacionales de Abulón'', the lobster and abalone fishing

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

based on the island. The second town is Puerto Morro Redondo (in short, El Morro), close to the southeastern point of the island, El Morro. It is a "company town," built by the joint Mexican Government and

Mitsubishi Corporation is Japan's largest trading company (sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. As of 2022, Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 80,000 people and has ten business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemical ...

to house the workers of the salt-

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g ...

facility on the island. Salt from the

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural sal ...

s of Guerrero Negro on the Baja California peninsula is taken by barge to a deepwater salt dock near Puerto Morro Redondo, at the south end of Cedros Island, where it is loaded onto ships for export. There is regularly scheduled air service to the island from Ensenada, departing every Monday and Wednesday, and landing at an airstrip at the south end, adjacent to the "company town," while a road leads to "Pueblo Cedros". Open launch rides across the channel between Cedros and the mainland can also be arranged at the Abarrotes Ramales store in Bahia Tortugas, but travellers opting for this transport should be prepared to have a flexible schedule with several extra days in case of inclement weather conditions in the Channel. The remaining settlements are smaller. Jerusalem is just west of El Morro, but on the western side of the airport, with regularly arranged residential units. It is frequently considered part of El Morro. Lomas Blancas, a mining town with 17 buildings, is located between Cedros town and El Morro. San Agustín, a typical fishing village with about 20 buildings, is located northeast of the southwestern point of the island, Cabo San Agustín. La Colorada, on the southwest coast, with about 10 buildings, is north of San Agustín. Wayle, 15 buildings on the western side of the southern bight ''Bahía del Sur'', is northeast of San Agustín. The mining town of Punta Norte (about 25 buildings) is located on the northeast coast, southeast of the northern end of the island, which is also called Punta Norte. to the southeast is Los Crestones mine. List of settlements and locations: #Cedros, #Puerto Morro Redondo, #Jerusalem, #Lomas Blancas, #San Agustín, #La Colorada, #Wayle, #Punta Norte,

Archaeology

The long-held theory that the first human beings in the Americas arrived by land through an ice-free corridor in western Canada has been called into question by archaeological discoveries along the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coastlines of North and South America. Many scientists now believe that the earliest inhabitants arrived by boat, and findings on Cedros Island bolster that theory. The

Clovis culture The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleoamerican culture, named for distinct stone and bone tools found in close association with Pleistocene fauna, particularly two mammoths, at Blackwater Locality No. 1 near Clovis, New Mexico, in 1936 a ...

, which began about 11,200 BCE, is the earliest universally acknowledged evidence of man in the Americas; but the remains of ancient people dating to earlier than 10,000 BCE have been found on Cedros Island. Cedros Island was attractive to humans because of its rich marine environment and its relative abundance of water compared to most of the desert coastline of Baja California. The early people of Cedros Island fished, gathered shellfish, and hunted

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s, and

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s. Ancient spear points and shell fishhooks found on Cedros are similar to those found in a semi-circle of the Pacific coastline from

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. The fishhooks made of shell found on Cedros Island indicate a marine, sea-going culture some 6,000 years before similar cultures are known to have existed on the coast and islands of California.

Earliest fishhooks in the Americas

The discovery of the earliest fishhooks in the Americas was reported from Cedros Island in 2017. They date to about 11,000 B.P. The people making these fishhooks were fishing for deepwater species, which indicates that they were using boats. Similar fishhooks have also been reported from

Isla Espíritu Santo Isla Espíritu Santo is an uninhabited island in the Gulf of California, off the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is separated from Isla Partida by a narrow canal. Together, the islands are part of La Paz Municipality and are both a ...

, also in Baja California.

History

; Spanish colonial period In 1539, when the Spanish expedition led by

Francisco de Ulloa Francisco de Ulloa () (died 1540) was a Spanish explorer who explored the west coast of present-day Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula under the commission of Hernán Cortés. Ulloa's voyage was among the first to disprove the cartograph ...

landed on the island, it encountered several villages with populations at each estimated in the hundreds. Finding it difficult to reach the remaining Indians on the island, the Jesuit missionaries practiced

Indian reductions Reductions ( es, reducciones, also called ; , pl. ) were settlements created by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such re ...

and brought them all to Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán, in San Ignacio on the Baja California mainland in 1732. Hunters seeking

s and sea otters worked out the island between 1790 and 1850. ;20th century

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

and

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mining took place near Punta Norte between 1890 and 1914. The fishing village and cannery at Puerto Cedros were established in 1920. The fishing cooperative was founded in 1943, and the deepwater salt dock at the south end of the island was built in 1966. The island was mapped in detail by Mexican and U.S. geologists during the 1970s.

Natural history

Cedros Island is at most some long in N-S direction and wide in the northern half; the southern end is some wide in a NW-SE direction. The island consists of a variety of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks, including part of an

ophiolite An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is found ...

complex and high-pressure, low temperature

blueschist Blueschist (), also called glaucophane schist, is a metavolcanic rock that forms by the metamorphism of basalt and rocks with similar composition at high pressures and low temperatures (), approximately corresponding to a depth of . The blue ...

s. Most of the rocks are of Mesozoic age, though some late Cenozoic strata crop out near the town in the southeastern corner of the island. Its highest peak, Monte Cedros, has an elevation of .

Flora

The most common vegetation for more than 90 percent of the land on the island is desert scrub of many different species. The lower elevations, especially the south, receive very sparse rainfall. However, the northern and western parts of the island are often shrouded in fog, and some plants have adapted to receiving moisture from fog. The fog, plus the slightly greater rainfall at higher elevations, has permitted the existence of

Monterey pine ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico ( Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the f ...

forests at elevations of to where the influence of the fog is most intense. The pine forests are scattered and only cover 0.46 percent of the total area of the island. The pines grow to a height of up to .

California juniper ''Juniperus californica'', the California juniper, is a species of juniper native to southwestern North America. Description ''Juniperus californica'' is a shrub or small tree reaching , but rarely up to tall. The bark is ashy gray, typically t ...

are also found at similar altitudes, covering 0.05 percent of the land area. At the highest elevations of the island, above and mixed in with the pine forests, chaparral vegetation is found. The chaparral averages in height and consists of several woody species including Quercus cedrosensis, the Cedar Island live oak. Chaparral covers 2.4 percent of the land area of Cedros Island. Vargas or El Aguaje de Vargas is the most important spring, with a flow of 180 drums of 200 L or 55 US gal every 12 hours; springs on the island are usually marked by groves of palm trees.

Fauna

Large

colonies are found on the rocks on the west side as well as the anchorage on the north end. There are feral

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s on Cedros. Unlike on other islands in the region (notably

Guadalupe Island Guadalupe Island ( es, Isla Guadalupe, link=no) is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean. The ...

), they do not seem to have had a significant impact on the island ecosystem. This would be due to the fact that Cedros is on the continental shelf close to the coast and, at least temporarily, it was connected to the mainland during the last ice age when

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

s were lower than today. Then, and as a consequence of this, there are native Cedros herbivores, such as Cedros Island mule deer which on one hand compete with the goat population for food and presumably have kept it from increasing beyond carrying capacity, and on the other hand forced the native plants to keep their defenses against herbivores, unlike plants on islands without

megaherbivore Megaherbivores (Greek μέγας megas "large" and Latin ''herbivora'' "herbivore") are large terrestrial herbivores that can exceed in weight. This polyphyletic group of megafauna includes elephants, rhinos, hippos, and giraffes. The largest ...

s, which tend to lack those defenses. Fish are abundant around Cedros Island.

California yellowtail ''Seriola dorsalis'', the California yellowtail is a species of ray-finned fish of the family Carangidae.Martinez-Takeshita, N., D. M. Purcell, C. L. Chabot, M. T. Craig, C. N. Paterson, J. R. Hyde, & L. G. Allen. 2015. A tale of three tails: c ...

, a subspecies of

yellowtail amberjack The yellowtail amberjack, yellowtail kingfish, hiramasa or great amberjack (''Seriola lalandi'') is a large fish found in the Southern Ocean. Although previously thought to be found in all oceans and seas, recent genetic analysis restricts ''S. ...

, are very plentiful in the waters around the island, as it is their breeding ground. These fish like to live in the kelp beds of the island. Other fish, such as

calico bass Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

and sheepshead are also very plentiful near the island.

Endemism

Cedros Island is home to a number of

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

that are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

or occur in very few places outside the island. These include: ;Animals: * Cedros side-blotched lizard, ''

Uta stansburiana The common side-blotched lizard (''Uta stansburiana'') is a species of side-blotched lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to dry regions of the western United States and northern Mexico. It is notable for having a unique fo ...

concinna'' - endemic * Cedros Island

Bewick's wren The Bewick's wren (''Thryomanes bewickii'') is a wren native to North America. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Thryomanes''. At about long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearan ...

, ''Thryomanes bewickii cerroensis'' - near-endemic * Cedros Island mule deer, ''Odocoileus hemionus cerrosensis'' - endemic * Cedros Island brush rabbit, ''Sylvilagus bachmani cerrosensis'' - endemic - * Cedros Island cactus mouse, ''Peromyscus eremicus cedrosensis'' - endemic - ;Plants:CMICD (2007) *''Cryptantha maritima'' var. ''cedrosensis'' - endemic *''Dudleya cedrosensis'' - endemic * '' Dudleya pachyphytum'' (Cedros Island Liveforever) - endemic * '' Eriogonum molle'' (Cedros soft buckwheat) - endemic * '' Ferocactus chrysacanthus'' - endemic * ''Harfordia macroptera'' ssp. ''fruticosa'' - endemic * '' Linanthus veatchii'' - endemic * ''Lotus cedrosensis'' - endemic * ''Mammillaria goodridgei'' var. ''goodridgei'' - endemic * ''Mammillaria goodridgei'' var. ''rectispina'' - endemic * '' Mimulus stellatus'' - endemic * ''Monardella thymifolia'' - endemic * ''Penstemon cedrosensis'' - endemic * ''Pinus radiata'' var. ''binata'' (Guadalupe Island Monterey pine) — near-endemic; ''possibly separable as var./ssp. ''cedrosensis'' and in this case endemic''. * ''Porophyllum cedrense'' - endemic * '' Quercus cedrosensis'' (Cedros Island oak) — near-endemic * '' Rhus integrifolia'' var. ''cedrosensis'' - endemic * '' Salvia cedrosensis'' (Cedros Island sage) - endemic * ''Senecio cedrosensis'' - endemic * ''Verbesina hastata'' - endemic *''Xylonagra arborea'' ssp. ''arborea'' - endemic

Footnotes

References

* (2007)
Plant accounts: Guadalupe Island
Retrieved 2007-OCT-10. * (2007):
Principales resultados por localidad 2005 (ITER)
' Principal results of the 2005 census by locality" n Spanish Retrieved 2007-OCT-10. * (2007): /nowiki>Google_Earth_satellite_image_of_Cedros_Island.html" ;"title="Google_Earth.html" ;"title="/nowiki>

/nowiki>Google_Earth_satellite_image_of_Cedros_Island">Google_Earth.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Google_Earth">/nowiki>Google_Earth_satellite_image_of_Cedros_Island_Retrieved_2007-OCT-10. *__(1907):_Birds_Collected_by_W._W._Brown,_Jr.,_on_Cerros_,_San_Benito_and_Natividad_Islands_in_the_Spring_of_1906,_with_Notes_on_the_Biota_of_the_Islands._''Condor_(journal).html" "title="Google Earth">/nowiki>Google Earth satellite image of Cedros Island">Google_Earth.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Google Earth">/nowiki>Google Earth satellite image of Cedros Island Retrieved 2007-OCT-10. * (1907): Birds Collected by W. W. Brown, Jr., on Cerros , San Benito and Natividad Islands in the Spring of 1906, with Notes on the Biota of the Islands. ''Condor (journal)">Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vu ...

'' 9(3): 77-81. PDF fulltext
* Des Lauriers, Matthew R.,'' Island of Fogs: Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Investigations of Isla Cedros, Baja'', 2010.
Land area of islands in Mexico
INEGI