San Blas, Nayarit
| San Blas | |
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| Municipality | |
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Panorama of San Blas
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 Location of San Blas municipality in Nayarit |
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 San Blas
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| Coordinates: 21°32′23″N 105°17′8″W / 21.53972°N 105.28556°WCoordinates: 21°32′23″N 105°17′8″W / 21.53972°N 105.28556°W | |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Nayarit |
| Founded | 1530 |
| Founded by | Nuño de Guzmán |
| Seat | San Blas |
| Government | |
| • Presidente municipal | Hilario Ramírez Villanueva (Ind.) |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 823.6 km2 (318.0 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 30 m (100 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Municipality | 37,478 |
| • Density | 46/km2 (120/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 10,187 |
| Time zone | MST (Zona Pacifico) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (Zona Pacifico) (UTC-6) |
| Postal Code | 63740 |
| Area Code | 323 |
| Website | sanblas |
San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Nayarit.
San Blas is a port and a popular tourist destination, located about 160 kilometres (99 mi) north of Puerto Vallarta, and 64 kilometres (40 mi) west of the state capital Tepic. The town has a population of 8,707.
The total municipality had a population of 37,478 in 2005. The Islas Marías, site of an infamous prison colony, are part of the municipality.
San Blas was founded in 1531, but the official date of founding is 1768, when Don Manuel Rivera and 116 families arrived on the orders of the Viceroy of New Spain, Marqués de Croix, under the supervision of José de Gálvez, who was visitador general ("inspector") of New Spain.
San Blas was the port from which the Spanish priest Junípero Serra, Father President of the California Missions, departed for California. He left on March 12, 1768 from the nearby Las Islitas beach on Matanchen Bay, in the locally built barque Purísima Concepción.
In May 1768, San Blas was designated as a new naval base for the Spanish Navy. At first, only two ships were assigned to the port: the packet boat San Carlos, commanded by Juan Pérez, and El Principe, commanded by Vicente Vila. Gálvez ordered four new vessels to be built, one of which was the schooner Sonora, later sailed in 1775 by Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra to Alaska.
On March 16, 1775, the San Carlos was set to depart San Blas, Mexico, for San Francisco Bay, stopping in Monterey to unload supplies for the mission there. The vessel was a product of the shipyard established on the Santiago River. Her length was 58 feet, the officers and men numbered 30. The voyage was delayed 3 days, until the first officer, 30-year-old Juan Manuel de Ayala, subdued the commander, "who had lost his wits and had to be taken back to port." The captain had been threatening the crew with loaded firearms and "without proper safeguards". Officer Ayala shot himself in the right foot while securing the weapons, but they sailed for San Francisco on March 19 under his command. They reached Monterey Bay on June 25. After a month there, she sailed, and arrived off the "yet unexplored Golden Gate". A land party had seen the south bay having traveled overland from Monterey. A first mate named Jose de Canizares entered in a long boat, being the first recorded European to enter what is now known as San Francisco Bay.
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Wikipedia