Ensenada is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Mexican

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the country, with a land area of in 2020, making slightly smaller than the state of Hidalgo and larger than five other Mexican states. Located offshore, Cedros Island and Guadalupe Island are part of the municipality, making Ensenada the westernmost municipality in Mexico and Latin America. Incorporated on May 15, 1882 as the northern partido of the Baja California Territory, it became a municipality of the state of Baja California on December 29, 1953. The municipality shares borders with every other municipality in the state:

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Playas de Rosarito and

Tecate Tecate () is a city in Tecate Municipality, Baja California. It is across the Mexico–United States border, Mexico–US border from Tecate, California. As of 2019, the city had a population of 108,860 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area ha ...

to the north,

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali, Cale ...

and San Felipe to the east and southeast and San Quintín to the south. Its municipal seat is Ensenada, a port lying near the northwest corner of the municipality. In 2009 a massive project was announced to build what would be Mexico's largest port in Punta Colonet, a largely uninhabited area south of the city of Ensenada, but as of 2025 no construction has begun. In February 2020, San Quintín separated from Ensenada and became Baja California's sixth municipality. Prior to this, Ensenada was the country's largest municipality. In January 2022, Puertecitos separated from Ensenada to San Felipe and became Baja California's seventh municipality, further reducing the size of Ensenada Municipality.

Subdivisions

Delegaciones del municipio de Ensenada BC

The Ensenada municipality is administratively subdivided into 17

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

: # Ensenada # La Misión #El Porvenir #Francisco Zarco ( Guadalupe) #San Antonio de las Minas #El Sauzal #Real del Castillo # Maneadero # Santo Tomás # Eréndira #San Vicente #Valle de la Trinidad # Colonet # Isla de Cedros #Sector Centro #Sector Noroeste #Chapultepec

Demographics

As of 2020, the municipality had a total population of 443,807 in 1,698 localities. Ensenada, the seat, has 330,652 residents, and the following are the largest urban communities: * Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada (Maneadero) (27,969) * El Sauzal de Rodríguez (11,371) * El Zorrillo (8,522) * San Vicente (5,062) * Valle de Guadalupe (4,334) * Valle de la Trinidad (3,381) * Punta Colonet (3,095) * Ojos Negros (2,707) * Poblado Héroes de Chapultepec (2,360).

Government

Municipal presidents

Notes

References

* Ensenada: Its background, founding, and early development http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/84winter/ensenada.htm
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005
INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
Los Municipios con Mayor y Menor Extensión Territorial

Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal The Instituto Nacional para el Federalismo y el Desarrollo Municipal (''National Institute for Federalism and Municipal Development'', better known by the acronym INAFED) is a decentralised agency of the Mexico, Mexican federal government. It has ...

Subdivisions (''delegaciones'')

External links

Ayuntamiento de Ensenada
Official government website.

Diane Lindquist, ''San Diego Union-Tribune'', 24 April 2006. Article on planned port construction at Punta Colonet. {{Authority control Municipalities of Baja California