The Gulf of California separates the Baja California peninsula from mainland Mexico, stretching about 1,126 kilometers long and 48 to 241 kilometers wide across roughly 160,000 square kilometers, with depths exceeding 3,000 meters shaped by the tectonic spreading slowly pulling Baja California away from the continent. The gulf is one of the most biologically diverse seas on Earth and shelters numerous endemic species, along with visiting blue whales, humpback whales, gray whales, killer whales and manta rays. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 but placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2019 because of the near extinction of the vaquita, a porpoise found only in these waters.
Facts
Classification
Biogeographic Realm Protected Status Area (sq km) Gulf of California
Filter Results2 entries
Connections
Demonstrates
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Hosts
Source Wikipedia: California sea hare
Source California sea lion, Wikipedia
Source Fin Whale (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Hadrurus arizonensis
Source Wikipedia: Gray Whale
Source Wikipedia: Humboldt squid
Source Wikidata: Leatherback Sea Turtle
Additional Source Gulf of California (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Lesser yellowlegs (Wikipedia)
Source Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Wikipedia)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Ginglymostoma cirratum
Source Olive ridley sea turtle, Wikipedia
Source Pacific Angelshark (Wikipedia)
Source Prickly shark (Wikipedia)
Source Red-throated loon (Wikipedia)
Source The Reptile Database: Sauromalus slevini
Source Ulva lactuca, Wikipedia
Source Ulva lactuca, Wikipedia
Source World Wildlife Fund
In Biome
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. WWF Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World
World Wildlife FundBaja California peninsula/Mexico, Nearctic per WWF realm boundaryView the Source 2. Wikipedia: Gulf of California
WikipediaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
Parts of the Gulf of California are a UNESCO World Heritage Site
3. Gulf of California (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section, first paragraph, stating gulf surface area
The surface of the gulf is about 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi).
Hosts: Leatherback Sea Turtle, Article text
In addition to a wide range of endemic creatures, such as the critically endangered vaquita and various species of sea urchin, it also hosts many migratory species, such as the humpback whale, California gray whale, killer whale, manta ray, Humboldt squid and leatherback sea turtle, and the world's largest animal, the blue whale.
View the Source World Wildlife Fund
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDemonstrates: UpwellingView the Source Pacific Angelshark (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Pacific Angelshark, Wikipedia intro: "a species of angelshark, family Squatinidae, found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska to the Gulf of California, and from Ecuador to Chile, although those..."View the Source Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHosts: Loggerhead Sea Turtle, ThreatsQuote, Hosts: Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Threats
The most common commercial fishery that accidentally takes loggerheads are bottom trawls used for shrimp vessels in the Gulf of California.
Fin Whale (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHosts: Fin Whale, Range and habitatQuote, Hosts: Fin Whale, Range and habitat
Although some fin whales are apparently present year-round in the Gulf of California, a significant increase occurs in their numbers in the winter and spring.
Wikipedia: Gray Whale
WikipediaHosts: Gray Whale, FeedingQuote, Hosts: Gray Whale, Feeding
Feeding areas during migration seem to include the Gulf of California, Monterey Bay and Baja California Sur.
California sea lion, Wikipedia
Hosts: California Sea Lion, LeadQuote, Hosts: California Sea Lion, Lead
Its natural habitat ranges from southeast Alaska to central Mexico, including the Gulf of California.
Ulva lactuca, Wikipedia
Hosts: Sea Lettuce, Ecology
In the Pacific Northwest, Ulva lactuca L. is distributed from Alaska to the Gulf of California.
Hosts: Ulva Lactuca, Ecology
In the Pacific Northwest, Ulva lactuca L. is distributed from Alaska to the Gulf of California.
View the SourceWikipedia: Humboldt squid
Hosts: Humboldt Squid, LeadQuote, Hosts: Humboldt Squid, Lead
This species is the most important squid worldwide for commercial fisheries, with the catch predominantly landed in Chile, Peru and Mexico; however, a 2015 warming waters fishery collapse in the Gulf of California remains unrecovered.
Wikipedia: Hadrurus arizonensis
Hosts: Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion, HabitatQuote, Hosts: Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion, Habitat
In Mexico, the species' range flanks the Gulf of California in Sonora and Baja California.
Olive ridley sea turtle, Wikipedia
Hosts: Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, DistributionQuote, Hosts: Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, Distribution
The olive ridley is also found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from the Galápagos Islands and Chile north to the Gulf of California, and along the Pacific coast to at least Oregon.
Wikipedia: California sea hare
WikipediaHosts: California Sea Hare, DistributionQuote, Hosts: California Sea Hare, Distribution
A. californica is found along the coast of California, United States, and northwestern Mexico (including the Gulf of California).
Red-throated loon (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Red-throated loon, Habitat and distributionQuote, Hosts: Red-throated loon, Habitat and distribution
In North America, it winters regularly along both coasts, ranging as far south as the Baja California Peninsula and the Gulf of California in north-western Mexico; it has been recorded as a vagrant in the interior Mexican state of Hidalgo.
Lesser yellowlegs (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Lesser Yellowlegs, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Lesser Yellowlegs, Distribution and habitat
During winter, lesser yellowlegs at the Atlantic coast of North America, from New Jersey southward, travel along the Pacific coast as far north as San Francisco Bay, and throughout the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California.
Prickly shark (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Prickly shark, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Prickly shark, Distribution and habitat
In the eastern Pacific, it is known to occur from Oregon to El Salvador (including the Gulf of California), around the Cocos and Galapagos Islands, and off Peru and Chile.
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Ginglymostoma cirratum
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Nurse Shark, Geographic RangeQuote, Hosts: Nurse Shark, Geographic Range
In the Pacific Ocean, nurse sharks are found in waters off the coast of Estero de La Bocana, Baja California Sur (26.8159°N latitude and -113.7945°W longitude) in Central America along the Pacific coast and completely inhabiting the Gulf of California, and to just south of the coast of Nazca, Peru (-15.2830°S latitude and -75.6732°W longitude) in South America.
The Reptile Database: Sauromalus slevini
The Reptile DatabaseHosts: Sauromalus slevini, DistributionQuote, Hosts: Sauromalus slevini, Distribution
Distribution Mexico (Gulf of California: Monserrate, Carmen, Soronados islands)
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