The El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve was created in 1988 and is located in Mulegé Municipality in northern Baja California Sur. It lies in the middle of the Baja California Peninsula, between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. The reserve covers an area of more than 24,930 square kilometers (9,630 square miles), making it the largest wildlife refuge in Mexico. It is located near the northern edge of the Valle de los Cirios Protected Area of Flora and Fauna.

History

Native groups first lived in this region more than 11,000 years ago. They may have been people who moved around and traveled from the northern part of the American continent, or they may have been groups that used the sea and boats to follow the coastline. During the early historic period, the Cochimi people lived there. They gathered food from the coast, the inland plains, and the Sierra de San Francisco. People who travel into this mountainous area can still see cave art left by the native people. Spanish explorers arrived in the area in the 16th century. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first explorer to explore the coasts, while Sebastián Vizcaíno explored inland, in what is now the biosphere reserve, in 1596 for Gaspar de Zúñiga, viceroy of New Spain.

Fauna

Animals that have adapted to these extreme conditions include many night-active species, such as coyotes, rodents, and hares. Some animals rely only on drinking water from plants that store water. The Baja California pronghorn, a type of pronghorn found only in this region, is a notable mammal. The last remaining groups of this species live in the area. The Vizcaíno region is also home to desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, and many types of birds that live there year-round or visit seasonally. Important bird species include ospreys, cormorants, herons, gulls, and four kinds of sea turtles. Along the coastline and nearby islands, marine mammals such as northern elephant seals, California sea lions, dolphins, and gray whales can be found.