Baja California peninsula
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Satellite image of the Baja California Peninsula
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| Geography | |
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| Location | North America |
| Adjacent bodies of water | |
| Area | 143,390 km2 (55,360 sq mi) |
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Mexico
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Coordinates: 28°00′N 113°30′W / 28.000°N 113.500°W
The Baja California Peninsula (English: Lower California Peninsula, Spanish: Península de Baja California) is a peninsula in Northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The peninsula extends 1,247 kilometres (775 mi) from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south. It ranges from 40 kilometres (25 mi) at its narrowest to 320 kilometres (200 mi) at its widest point and has approximately 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) of coastline and approximately 65 islands. The total area of the Baja California Peninsula is 143,390 square kilometres (55,360 sq mi).
The peninsula is separated from mainland Mexico by the Gulf of California and the Colorado River. There are four main desert areas on the peninsula: the San Felipe Desert, the Central Coast Desert, the Vizcaíno Desert and the Magdalena Plain Desert.
The land of California existed as a myth among European explorers before it was discovered. The earliest known mention of the idea of California was in the 1510 romance novel Las Sergas de Esplandián by Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The book described the Island of California as being west of the Indies, "very close to the side of the Terrestrial Paradise; and it is peopled by black women, without any man among them, for they live in the manner of Amazons."
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Wikipedia