Bahía Magdalena
| Bahía Magdalena | ||
|---|---|---|
| Waters | Pacific Ocean | |
| Land mass | Baja California | |
| Geographical location | 24 ° 35 ′ N , 112 ° 0 ′ W | |
|
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| width | 35 km | |
| depth | 24 km | |
The Bahía Magdalena ( German Magdalena Bay ) is a lagoon on the Mexican west coast, it belongs to the state of Baja California Sur . It is limited to the Pacific by the sandy barrier islands Isla Magdalena and Isla Santa Margarita , between which there is a 5.6 km wide opening to the open sea. The lagoon has a length of 35 kilometers from the San Carlos Canal in the north to the Gaviota Canal in the south, which is only 1.8 km wide at its narrowest point and which connects to the Bahía Almejas to the south , from which the Bahía Magdalena through the Isla Mangrove is separated. The maximum width of the bay is around 24 kilometers.
The area is of great ecological importance, as gray whales migrate into the bay every year in winter . This is where the birth of the calves and the mating ritual take place. In addition, the mangroves offer good living conditions for sea birds.
Professional and sport fishermen as well as whale watchers have their bases in the small towns of San Carlos and Puerto López Mateos .
In 1908, the American Great White Fleet of 16 battleships and other units stopped here on their round-the-world tour and carried out some practice shooting.