Cedros Island is a Mexican island in the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

.

It is located off the west coast of the Mexican state of Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

 from which it is separated by 100 km (62 mi)-wide Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay

Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay

Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay is a bay along the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is part of the El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve. It lies off the Pacific coast of Ensenada Municipality and Mulegé Municipality....

, 22 km (13.5 mi) northwest of Punta Eugenia in Mulegé municipality - the westernmost point of the Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur , is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state on October 8, 1974, the area was known as the South Territory of Baja California. It has an area of , or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises...

 mainland. It also lies 15 km (9.25 mi) north of Isla Natividad

Isla Natividad

Isla Natividad is an island in the Pacific Ocean 6 km west off Punta Eugenia, the northwestern headland of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. 200 meters off its northwestern end lies Roca María at , with an area of 0.074 km²...

 (off Punta Eugenia, and also part of Mulegé) from which it is separated by the Canal de Keller, and some 500 km (310 mi) from of San Diego. The island has an area of 348.295 km² (134.477 mi²), being the fourth-largest island in Mexico (following Tiburón Island

Tiburón Island

Tiburón Island is both the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Tiburón is Spanish for shark. The etymology of the Seri name is unknown...

, Isla Ángel de la Guarda

Isla Ángel de la Guarda

Isla Ángel de la Guarda, also called Archangel Island, and called Xazl Iimt east of Bahía de los Ángeles, and separated from the Baja California Peninsula by the Canal de Ballenas . It is the second largest of the eleven Midriff Islands or Islas Grandes. It is part of the state of Baja California,...

, and Cozumel

Cozumel

Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen, and close to the Yucatan Channel. Cozumel is one of the ten municipalities of the state of Quintana Roo...

). It is part of the Municipality

Municipalities of Mexico

Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...

 of Ensenada

Ensenada (municipality)

The municipality of Ensenada, with a land area of , takes up the majority of the state of Baja California. It is the largest in Mexico by area and the Americas. It contains all of Baja California apart from a strip at the north and, at the northeast extremity of the state, the municipality of...

.

Fishing is great at Cedros Island. Yellowtail Amberjack

Yellowtail amberjack

The yellowtail amberjack or great amberjack, Seriola lalandi, is a large fish found in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It can be divided into three sub-species: The California yellowtail, Seriola lalandi dorsalis, the southern yellowtail, or in New Zealand and Australia the yellowtail kingfish or...

 or california yellowtail are very plentiful at this Island because yellowtail breed there. These fish like to live in the kelp beds of the Island. Other Fish like Calico bass and sheepshead

Sheepshead

Sheepshead or Sheephead is a trick-taking card game related to the Skat family of games. It is the Americanized version of a card game that originated in Central Europe in the late 18th century under the German name Schafkopf. Although Schafkopf literally means "sheepshead", it has nothing to do...

 are also very plentiful at this Island.

Between Cedros Island and Isla Natividad runs the 28th parallel north

Circle of latitude

A circle of latitude, on the Earth, is an imaginary east-west circle connecting all locations that share a given latitude...

, which defines the border between the Mexican states of Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

 and Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur

Baja California Sur , is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state on October 8, 1974, the area was known as the South Territory of Baja California. It has an area of , or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises...

. The Islas San Benito

Islas San Benito

The Islas San Benito lie in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the Mexican state of Baja California, 25 km west of Cedros Island. They are part of the Cedros Island delegación, a subdivision of Ensenada , Baja California....

, about 25 km (16 mi) west and 3.899 km² (1.505 mi²) in area, are administratively part of Cedros Island.

The Isla de Cedros was named by early Spanish explorers who mistakenly associated the large amounts of redwood and cedar

Cedar wood

Cedar wood comes from several different trees that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.* California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens, is the primary type of wood used for making pencils...

 driftwood

Driftwood

Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris or tidewrack....

 arriving with the California current for local pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

s visible on the crest of the island.

Population and settlements

It constitutes one of the 24 subdivisions (delegaciones) of the municipio

Municipio

Municipio and Município are terms used for country subdivisions. They are often translated as municipality.-Overview:...

 of Ensenada

Ensenada (municipality)

The municipality of Ensenada, with a land area of , takes up the majority of the state of Baja California. It is the largest in Mexico by area and the Americas. It contains all of Baja California apart from a strip at the north and, at the northeast extremity of the state, the municipality of...

. The 2005 census showed a total population of 1,350 persons.

The borough

Boroughs of Mexico

In Mexico, boroughs in which some municipalities and the Federal District are divided for administrative purposes are known as delegaciones...

 "seat" is Cedros town ("Pueblo Cedros"), on the southern east coast. Pueblo Cedros is largely associated with Pescadores Nacionales de Abulón, the lobster

Lobster

Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...

 and abalone

Abalone

Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...

 fishing cooperative

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

 based on the island. It was founded by fishermen in 1922.

The second town is Puerto Morro Redondo (in short, El Morro), close to the southeastern point of the island, El Morro. It is a "company town," built by the joint Mexican Government and Mitsubishi Corporation

Mitsubishi Corporation

is Japan's largest trading company , a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 50,000 people and has seven business segments including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals, food and more....

 to house the workers of the salt-transshipment

Transshipment

Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....

 facility on the island. Salt from the salt evaporation pond

Salt evaporation pond

Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...

s of Guerrero Negro

Guerrero Negro

Guerrero Negro is the largest town located in the municipality of Mulegé in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur . It had a population of 13,054 in the 2010 census. Guerrero Negro is served by Guerrero Negro Airport.- Whale Festival :...

 on the Baja California peninsula

Baja California Peninsula

The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...

 is taken by barge to a deepwater salt dock near Puerto Morro Redondo, at the south end of Cedros Island, where it is loaded onto ships for export. There is regularly scheduled air service to the island from Ensenada, departing every Monday and Wednesday, and landing at an airstrip

Isla de Cedros Airport

Isla de Cedros Airport is a small airfield located six miles south of Cedros, Baja California, Mexico, the biggest town in Isla de Cedros, which is the biggest Mexican island in the Pacific Ocean...

 at the south end, adjacent to the "company town," while a 10 km (6 mi) road leads to "Pueblo Cedros". Open launch rides across the channel between Cedros and the mainland can also be arranged at the Abarrotes Ramales store in Bahia Tortugas, but travellers opting for this transport should be prepared to have a flexible schedule with several extra days in case of inclement weather conditions in the Channel.

The remaining settlements are smaller. Jerusalem is just west of El Morro, but on the western side of the airport, with regularly arranged residential units. It is frequently considered part of El Morro.

Lomas Blancas, a mining town with 17 buildings, is located between Cedros town and El Morro.

San Agustín, a typical fishing village with about 20 buildings, is located 1 km northeast of the southwestern point of the island, Cabo San Agustín.

La Colorada, on the southern west coast, with about 10 buildings, is 4 km north of San Agustín.

Wayle, 15 buildings on the western side of the southern bight Bahía del Sur, is 3 km northeast of San Agustín.

The mining town of Punta Norte (about 25 buildings) is located on the northern east coast, 3.5 km southeast of the northern end of the island, which is also called Punta Norte. Two km to the southeast is Los Crestones mine.

List of settlements and locations:

1. Cedros, 28°05′45.5"N 115°11′12.4"W
2. Puerto Morro Redondo, 28°02′18.6"N 115°11′12.0"W
3. Jerusalem, 28°02′24"N 115°11′29"W
4. Lomas Blancas, 28°04′44"N 115°11′07"W
5. San Agustín, 28°04′54.6"N 115°20′20.6"W
6. La Colorada, 28°07′01.2"N 115°21′07.0"W
7. Wayle, 28°05′34"N 115°18′47"W
8. Punta Norte, 28°21′15"N 115°11′39"W

History

Isla Cedros was home to some of the earliest occupants of the Pacific Coast of North America, and its later indigenous inhabitants had developed a way of life finely attuned to the conditions of this arid but resource-rich island. They had probably reached an overall population around 1,000-1,200 inhabitants by the time of European contact. Currently, archaeological research into the indigenous history of the island is being conducted by researchers from California State University, Northridge

California State University, Northridge

California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....

 and Oregon State University

Oregon State University

Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...

, under the direction of Dr. Matthew R. Des Lauriers. More than 70 archaeological sites have been identified, with several dating in excess of 10,000 years old.

In 1539, when the Spanish expedition led by Francisco de Ulloa

Francisco de Ulloa

Francisco de Ulloa was a Spanish explorer who explored the west coast of present-day Mexico under the commission of Hernán Cortés...

 landed on the island, it encountered several villages with populations at each estimated in the hundreds. These native peoples possessed sophisticated maritime technology and watercraft and depended largely on ocean resources for their livelihood. These peoples were Cochimí speakers

Cochimi

The Cochimí are the aboriginal inhabitants of the central part of the Baja California peninsula, from El Rosario in the north to San Javier in the south....

, related to the Native American tribes of Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

, the lower Colorado River

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

, and Western Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

.

Finding it difficult to reach the remaining Indians on the island, Jesuit fathers brought them all to Mission San Ignacio on the Baja California mainland in 1732. Hunters seeking seal

Pinniped

Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...

s and sea otter

Sea Otter

The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...

s worked out the island between 1790 and 1850. Gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 and copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 mining took place near Punta Norte between 1890 and 1917. The fishing village and cannery at Puerto Cedros were established in 1920. The fishing cooperative was founded in 1943, and the deepwater salt dock at the south end of the island was built in 1966. The island was mapped in detail by Mexican and U.S. geologists during the 1970s. For some time, the western side had some cattle ranching.

Natural history

Cedros Island is at most some 38 km (24 mi) long in N-S direction and 6.4–8 km (4-5 mi) wide in the northern half; the southern end is some 17 km (11 mi) wide in a NW-SE direction. The island consists of a variety of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks, including part of an ophiolite complex and high-pressure, low temperature blueschists. Most of the rocks are of Mesozoic age, though some late Cenozoic strata crop out near the town in the southeastern corner of the island. Its highest peak, Monte Cedros, has an elevation of 1,205 meters (3,949 feet).

The island is often shrouded in fog, so that some plants have adapted to receiving moisture from fog. The west side of the island is windswept and subject to heavy surf; Pacific hurricanes are not unusual. The lower elevations, in particular the south, receive very little rainfall, and desert vegetation prevails. At higher elevations and in the north, there are trees like Quercus cedrosensis

Quercus cedrosensis

Quercus cedrosensis is a species of plant in the Fagaceae family. It is endemic to Cedros Island, west off Baja California in Mexico. It is vulnerable to habitat loss due to overgrazing by goats and overlogging.-Source:...

live oak

Live oak

Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...

s, California Juniper, and Monterey Pine

Monterey Pine

The Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata, family Pinaceae, also known as the Insignis Pine or Radiata Pine is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California....

s. Vargas or El Aguaje de Vargas is the most important spring with a flow of 180 drums of 200 lts or 55 gal each 12 hours; Springs on the island are usually marked by groves of palm trees.

Large sea lion

Sea Lion

Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera...

 colonies are found on the rocks on the west side as well as the anchorage on the north end.

There are feral goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

s on Cedros. Unlike on other islands in the region (notably Guadalupe Island

Guadalupe Island

Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe is a volcanic island located 241 kilometers off the west coast of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California state, in the Pacific Ocean...

), they do not seem to have had a significant impact on the island ecosystem. This would be due to the fact that Cedros is on the continental shelf

Continental shelf

The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...

 close to the coast, and at least temporarily, it must have been connected to the mainland during the last ice age when sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

s were lower than today. Then, and as a consequence of this, there are native to Cedros herbivore

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

s, which on one hand compete with the goat population for food and presumably have kept it from increasing beyond carrying capacity

Carrying capacity

The carrying capacity of a biological species in an environment is the maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available in the environment...

, and on the other hand forced the native plants to keep their defenses against herbivores, unlike plants on megaherbivoreless islands which tend to lack those defenses.

Endemism

Cedros Island is home to a number of taxa that are endemic to or occur in very few places outside the island. These include:

Animals:

• Cedros Side-blotched Lizard, Uta stansburiana concinna - endemic
• Cedros Island Bewick's Wren
  Bewick's Wren
  The Bewick's Wren is a wren native to North America. At about 14 cm long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance to the Carolina Wren, it has a long tail that is tipped in white. The song is loud and melodious, much like the song of other...
  
  , Thryomanes bewickii cerroensis - near-endemic
• Cedros Island Mule Deer
  Mule Deer
  The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
  
  , Odocoileus hemionus cerrosensis - endemic
• Cedros Island Brush Rabbit
  Brush Rabbit
  The Brush Rabbit , or Western Brush Rabbit, is a species of cottontail rabbit found in western coastal regions of North America, from the Columbia River in Oregon to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula...
  
  , Sylvilagus bachmani cerrosensis - endemic
• Cedros Island Cactus Mouse
  Cactus Mouse
  The Cactus Mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.It is found in Mexico and the United States....
  
  , Peromyscus eremicus cedrosensis - endemic

Plants:

• Cryptantha maritima var. cedrosensis - endemic
• Dudleya cedrosensis - endemic
• Dudleya pachyphytum - endemic
• Eriogonum molle - endemic
• Harfordia macroptera ssp. fruticosa - endemic
• Leptodactylon veatchii - endemic
• Lotus cedrosensis - endemic
• Mammillaria goodridgei var. goodridgei - endemic
• Mammillaria goodridgei var. rectispina - endemic
• Mimulus stellatus - endemic
• Monardella thymifolia - endemic
• Penstemon cedrosensis - endemic
• Pinus radiata var. binata (Guadalupe Island Monterey Pine
  Monterey Pine
  The Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata, family Pinaceae, also known as the Insignis Pine or Radiata Pine is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California....
  
  ) - near-endemic; possibly separable as var./ssp. cedrosensis and in this case endemic
• Porophyllum cedrense - endemic
• Quercus cedrosensis (Cedros Island Oak) - near-endemic
• Rhus integrifolia var. cedrosensis
  Rhus integrifolia
  Rhus integrifolia, also known as Lemonade Berry, Lemonadeberry, or Lemonade Sumac is a shrub to small tree. It is native to the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges and the South Coast regions of Southern California...
  
   - endemic
• Senecio cedrosensis - endemic
• Verbesina hastata - endemic
• Xylonagra arborea ssp. arborea - endemic

External links

• Mexico Desconocido Article in Spanish.
• Baja Quest Article about Cedros Island.
• Globe Trotters Travel Travelogs Travel experience to Cedros Island.
• Geologic Map
• Mining Map
• geology and minerals information