Loreto also has much for the culture and history enthusiast; this is where the first successful European settlement in “the Californias” was established. Padre Juan Maria Salvatierra landed at Loreto in late October 1697, and the Mission he founded became the center of the Jesuit effort to christianize the indiginous peninsular people. Later on the Franciscans and then Dominicans continued the expansion of this system for nearly 1000 miles north via the El Camino Real.
Loreto is located on the Eastern side of the Baja California peninsula on the Sea of Cortez, named “the aquarium of the world” by the late Jacques Costeau. The dramatic Sierra de la Giganta mountain range west of Loreto consists of irregularly shaped volcanic peaks as high as 1,520 meters which plunge dramaticaly into the Sea of Cortez. The native Californiano people said that Loreto is “where the mountains come to swim” and painted many reprentations of marine and terrestrial life in caves and on rock faces.
Rainfall is generally limited to late summer and associated with tropical storms and cyclones. Precipitation is more common in the higher elevations where dry river beds channel water that flows into the Sea of Cortez carrying vital nutrients.
Loreto is located over 150 miles North of the mouth of the Sea of Cortez, well away from the tidal influence and wave action of the Pacific Ocean. Due to the calm seas, shorelines are rocky to pebbly broken up with mountainous terrain and a few isolated sandy beaches.
Due to its isolation, arid climate, and varied terrain, the Baja California peninsula has evolved some curiously photogenic plants and inland landscapes. Large cacti such as the Giant Cardon and the Pitahaya Dulce are well represented around Loreto as are hardwood trees such as the Mesquite. There are an endless number of canyons to be explored that ascend into rugged mountains. Erosion exposed rock yields fossilized seashells well above sealevel overlooking the Islands that float in the deep blue Sea of Cortez, recognized for their natural beauty and biological diversity as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Bay of Loreto National Marine Park was established in 1997 in recognition of our surrounding water’s natural beauty and abundance of marine life.
At night, on the sea, on the islands, in the mountains or out of town in the desert an endless sea of stars blankets us. In this setting peace and adventure are found.