Bahía De Loreto National Park
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Bahía de Loreto National Park () is a
national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
on the east coast of the Baja California Peninsula in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, about north of the city of
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
in the state of
Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...
. The park protects of relatively pristine marine ecosystem in the central
Sea of Cortez The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...
, including five large uninhabited islands and many smaller islets in Loreto Bay. It is known for its great variety of coastal environments, such as sandy beaches, sea cliffs, submarine canyons, and marine terraces, and is home to an exceptionally high biological diversity, especially of
marine mammal Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine enviro ...
s. The national park was created by federal decree on July 19, 1996, and is administered by the Natural Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP), an agency of Mexico's
Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (in Spanish: ''Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, SEMARNAT'') is Mexico's environment ministry. Its head, the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources, is a member ...
. In 2004, it joined the Ramsar list of Wetlands of International Importance, and in 2005, it was declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
collectively with many other protected areas in the Gulf of California.


Description

Bahía de Loreto National Park protects Loreto Bay, located in northwest Mexico off the coast of Loreto Municipality in the state of
Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...
; the city of Loreto abuts park territory. The park covers an area of , 88% of which is ocean surface; the islands, islets, and coastal regions that comprise the remaining 12% are mostly uninhabited. Five main islands serve as the park's chief focal points and tourist destinations: Isla Coronados,
Isla del Carmen Ciudad del Carmen or Carmen is a city in the southwest of the Mexican state of Campeche. Ciudad del Carmen is located at on the southwest of Carmen Island, which stands in the Laguna de Términos on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. , Ciudad ...
, Isla Danzante, Isla Monserrat, and
Isla Santa Catalina Isla Santa Catalina, officially known as Isla Catalana, is an island in the Gulf of California east of the Baja Peninsula, Baja California Peninsula. The island is uninhabited and is part of the Loreto Municipality, Baja California Sur, Loreto M ...
. Though the municipality of Loreto is not within park boundaries, it is the primary starting point for tours of the park and is considered a major influence on the area's ecology. The municipality had a population of 11,812 at the 2000 census.


See also

*
List of national parks of Mexico Mexico recognizes 67 Mexican Protected Natural Areas, federally protected natural areas as national parks (), which are administered by the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (CONANP), a branch of the federal Secretariat of the Environ ...


References


External links


Loreto.com Interactive map of the new Zoning of the Bahia de Loreto National Park
{{authority control National parks of Mexico Ramsar sites in Mexico World Heritage Sites in Mexico Protected areas of Baja California Sur 1996 establishments in Mexico Natural history of Baja California Natural history of Baja California Sur Pacific Coast of Mexico Bays of Mexico on the Pacific Ocean