Photo by Gary Kramer
hen last tallied,
about 3,000 species, subspecies, and varieties of native and introduced
(non-native) vascular plants (the "higher" plants, having vessels or ducts
carrying sap) have been recorded in Baja. As might be expected, the plants
of northern Baja are closely related to those of Southern California. Much
of the land below 3,000 feet west of the Juárez
and San Pedro Mártir escarpments is covered
by chaparral consisting of chamise, manzanita, laurel sumac, sage, and
other plants, giving way at lower elevations to a coastal scrub of agave,
cliff spurge, buckeye, buckwheat, and bladderpod. Plants in the Cape
region are closely related to those of the nearest areas on the mainland,
with complex communities of cacti, yuccas, and various shrubs and trees
like palo blanco and palo verde at low elevations. Between these northern
and southern areas, many familiar desert plants are found, including ocotillo,
ironwood, creosote bush, mesquite, agave, and various cacti, including
the infamous jumping cholla.
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ost travelers, confined
largely to paved roads and possessing a stereotypical vision of what Baja
"ought" to look like, would express disbelief about what is to be found
in some areas. In spite of Baja's "burning-desert" image, there are relatively
well-watered areas that support a distinctly nondesert vegetation, especially
the higher reaches of the Sierra de Juárez and the Sierra de
San Pedro Mártir, where forests of pine, cedar, fir, aspen, and
oak are encountered. The latter area even has a version of a Canadian boreal
forest, complete with lodgepole pine and white fir. The considerable rainfall
in the mountains of the Cape region supports woodlands of oak and pinyon
pine, sometimes guarded by an almost impenetrable underbrush. In addition,
there are tiny Shangri-las, microenvironments of verdant palms, park-like
meadows, mangrove lagoons, fresh- and saltwater marshes, streams, and even
waterfalls, often in the most unexpected places.
ncounters with
coyotes and roadrunners might not surprise you, but there are also mule
deer, mountain lion, bighorn sheep, and a few antelope, as well as many
smaller mammal species such as fox, rabbit, bobcat, skunk, badger, raccoon,
ring-tailed cat, ground squirrel, chipmunk, gopher, mouse, and rat, plus
feral (domestic animals gone wild) cat, pig, and goat. Well adapted to
Baja's climates, many reptile species inhabit the peninsula, including
such familiar and expected animals as various species of rattlesnake and
whiptail, king, and gopher snakes, and numerous iguanids, geckos, and lizards.
Tree frog, salamander, and pond turtle don't seem to be the sort of animals
you would expect to encounter in Baja, but they are present, along with
a number of species of toad. Baja's diverse mix of deserts, bays, mangrove
lagoons, forested peaks, and islands, together with its strategic location
on many flyways, promotes an equally diverse mixture of bird life. Check
lists differ, but some identify over 400 species that live in, breed in,
or pass through Baja and over surrounding waters.
he southerly sweep
of the California Current insures that snorkelers and fishermen will find
it difficult to differentiate the flora and fauna of the Pacific waters
off northwestern Baja from those of Southern California, and extensive
kelp beds and such fauna as ling cod, abalone, and sea urchins are common.
Starting at about San Quintín, however,
some of the plants and animals adapted to cool water start to disappear,
and forms that are adapted to more tropical conditions become increasingly
common. By Punta Abreojos, the underwater environment
becomes distinctly tropical, although some cool-water life like abalone
can be found all the way to the Cape. Occasionally El Niño, a
warm current formed in the Pacific, provides a few surprises: in the Summer
of 1993, several Cortez angelfish, normally a tropical species whose presence
in Baja waters is confined largely to the Cape
region, were seen in the San Diego area, mako
sharks, skipjack, dolphinfish, and broadbill swordfish were hooked in the
Bay Area, and a marlin was caught in Oregon.
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he diversity of fish
in the Cortez is extreme due to its great variations in water temperature
and depth, and great range of bottom topography, from great shallows with
flat, silty bottoms to vertical rock walls. Although early explorers thought
Baja to be an island, there has been no direct connection between the northern
Cortez and the Pacific at any point in the geological history of the peninsula.
It might be hard to convince a fisherman or diver of this fact, however,
for the northern Cortez is home to a rather odd assortment of fish, with
more in common with Southern California than with the rest of the Cortez.
Among the "California" fish to be found are white seabass, ocean whitefish,
several species of rockfish, sheephead, and California halibut. Although
some Baja residents claim there is a tunnel under the peninsula connecting
the Cortez and the Pacific, a more likely reason for the presence of these
species in the northern Cortez is that their ancestors arrived during a
period when Cortez waters were cooler than today. At the southern end of
the Cortez, Indo-Pacific species like Moorish idols and longnose butterfly
fish can be seen, and there is even a sizable coral reef.
hile a visitor
to Baja is unlikely to see a large, wild, four-legged land mammal (the
two-legged variety is common), the waters surrounding the peninsula contain
an abundance of marine mammals, and over 20 species of whales, porpoises,
and dolphins have been identified. The most numerous large whales in Baja's
Pacific waters are the gray whales, some of which are "friendly," often
approaching boats hoping to be scratched and petted. A full-time resident
population of finback whales lives in the Cortez, often concentrated in
the Midriff region, and others can be seen in
the Pacific in winter. Finbacks are large, and at up to 80 feet they are
second only to blue whales. They sometimes swim in groups of 2 to 10, their
spouts shooting up like geysers. On rare occasions they get together in
larger groups, and 27 were once seen feeding together in the Cortez.
umpbacks, with
their long white flippers and musical talents, inhabit the Cortez and waters
off the Cape in winter, especially the latter area. Blue whales, at 100
feet and 150 tons the largest animals ever to live on earth, cruise off
the Pacific coast, some visiting the Cortez between late winter and late
spring. A "school," or better yet a "university," of 12 blues was seen
a number of years ago, feeding west of Isla Cedros.
Sperm whales are seen occasionally, sometimes traveling in large groups.
Fifty-two of them stranded on a beach north of Mulegé
in 1979 and died in the hot sun. Orcas often stay near the Islas
San Benito, where they are attracted by large numbers of sea lions, a favorite
delicacy. In 1978, a pod of an estimated 40 orcas was seen attacking a
blue whale off Cabo San Lucas, biting its lips and
flukes for over an hour.
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eals and sea lions
are common in Baja waters, although few are to be seen in locations accessible
by road. California sea lions, elephant seals, and harbor seals breed and
calve on the larger islands along the Pacific coast. California sea lions
often entertain human divers at the islands north of La
Paz with barrel rolls and somersaults. Sea lions are not often appreciated
by local fishermen, who see them as competition, and they are sometimes
killed and used as shark bait. However, scientists have found that 90%
of their diet consists of fish with no commercial value. Elephant seals
are most common at the San Benitos, although they also haul out on the Islas
los Coronados, San Jerénimo, and San Martín as well.
Harbor seals often can be seen on San Martín, San
Jerónimo, and the Coronados, and occasionally on the Islas de
Todos Santos west of Ensenada. Stellar sea
lions and northern fur seals are seen from Cedros north, but only rarely.
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