Baja California
Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California. It has an area of and comprises the northern half of the Baja California peninsula, north of the 28th parallel, plus oceanic Guadalupe Island. The mainland portion of the state is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the east by Sonora and the northern Gulf of California, on the north by the United States and on the south by Baja California Sur.
The state has an estimated population of 3,769,020 as of 2020, significantly higher than the sparsely populated Baja California Sur to the south, and similar to San Diego County, California, to its north. Over 75% of the population lives in Mexicali, Ensenada, or Tijuana. Other important cities include San Felipe, Rosarito, and Tecate.
Baja California is the 12th-largest state by area in Mexico. Its geography ranges from beaches to forests and deserts. The backbone of the state is the Sierra de Baja California, where Picacho del Diablo, the highest point of the peninsula, is located. This mountain range effectively divides the weather patterns in the state. In the northwest, the weather is semi-dry and Mediterranean. In the narrow center, the weather changes to be more humid due to altitude. It is in this area where a few valleys can be found, such as the Valle de Guadalupe, the major wine-producing area in Mexico. To the east of the mountain range, the Sonoran Desert dominates the landscape. In the south, the weather becomes drier and gives way to the Vizcaíno Desert. The state is also home to numerous islands off both of its shores. Baja California is also home to Guadalupe Island, the westernmost point of Mexico. The Coronado Islands, Todos Santos islands, and Cedros Island are also on the Pacific shore. On the Gulf of California, the largest island is Angel de la Guarda Island, separated from the peninsula by the deep and narrow Canal de Ballenas.
History
Prehistory and Spanish colonial era
The first people came to the peninsula at least 11,000 years ago. At that time, two main native groups are thought to have been present on the peninsula – the Cochimí in the south, and several groups belonging to the Yuman language family in the north, including the Kiliwa, Paipai, Kumeyaay, Cocopa, and Quechan. These peoples were diverse in their adaptations to the region. The Cochimí of the peninsula's Central Desert were generalized hunter-gatherers who moved frequently; however, the Cochimí on Cedros Island off the west coast developed a strong maritime economy. The Kiliwa, Paipai, and Kumeyaay in the better-watered northwest were also hunter-gatherers, but that region supported denser populations and a more sedentary lifestyle. The Cocopa and Quechan of northeastern Baja California practiced agriculture in the floodplain of the lower Colorado River.Another group of people was the Guachimis, who came from the north and created much of the UNESCO World Heritage-recognized Sierra de Guadalupe cave paintings. Not much is known about them except that they lived in the area between 100BC and 1300AD.
Europeans reached the present state of Baja California in 1539, when Francisco de Ulloa reconnoitered its east coast on the Gulf of California and explored the peninsula's west coast at least as far north as Cedros Island. Hernando de Alarcón returned to the east coast and ascended the lower Colorado River in 1540, and Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo completed the reconnaissance of the west coast in 1542. Sebastián Vizcaíno again surveyed the west coast in 1602, but outside visitors during the following century were few.
The Jesuits founded a permanent mission colony on the peninsula at Loreto in 1697. During the following decades, they gradually extended their sway throughout the present state of Baja California Sur. In 1751–1753, the Croatian Jesuit mission-explorer Ferdinand Konščak made overland explorations northward into the state of Baja California. Jesuit missions were subsequently established among the Cochimí at Santa Gertrudis, San Borja, and Santa María.
After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1768, the short-lived Franciscan administration resulted in one new mission at San Fernando Velicatá. More importantly, the 1769 expedition to settle Alta California under Gaspar de Portolà and Junípero Serra resulted in the first overland exploration of the northwestern portion of the state.
The Dominicans took over management of the Baja California missions from the Franciscans in 1773. They established a chain of new missions among the northern Cochimí and western Yumans, first on the coast and subsequently inland, extending from El Rosario to Descanso, just south of Tijuana below the Palóu Line.
In 1804, the Spanish crown divided California into Alta and Baja California at the line separating the Franciscan missions in the north from the Dominican missions in the south.
The colonial governors were José Joaquín de Arillaga, Felipe de Goicoechea,
and José Darío Argüello.
Post-independence, 1821–present
Early republic
were concerned that the Roman Catholic Church retained too much power in the post-independence period and sought to undermine it by mandating the secularization of missions in 1833. In the aftermath of the Mexican American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States gained sovereignty over territory previously held first by New Spain and then Mexico, most of which was sparsely settled. Alta California was incorporated into the U.S., and during the California Gold Rush, quickly gained enough population to be admitted to the union as a state. Baja California gains control of where is now the cities of Tijuana, Mexicali, and Tecate from Alta California after the treaty and remained under Mexican control. In 1853, soldier of fortune William Walker captured La Paz, declaring himself president of the Republic of Baja California. The Mexican government forced his retreat after several months.Era of Porfirio Díaz
When liberal army general Porfirio Díaz came to power in 1876, he embarked on a major program to develop and modernize Mexico.- 1884: Luis Huller and George H. Sisson obtain a concession covering much of the present state in return for promises to develop the area.
- 1905: The Magonista revolution, an anarchist movement based on the writings of Ricardo Flores Magón and Enrique Flores Magón, begins.
- 1911: Mexicali and Tijuana are captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, but soon surrender to Federal forces.
Postrevolutionary Mexico
- 1917: On 11 December, " prominent Mexican, close friend of President Carranza" offered to U.S. Senator Henry Ashurst to sell Baja California to the U.S. for "fifty million dollars gold".
- 1931: Baja California is further divided into Northern and Southern territories.
- 1952: The North Territory of Baja California becomes the 29th state of Mexico, Baja California. The southern portion remains a federally administered territory.
- 1974: The South Territory of Baja California becomes the 31st state, Baja California Sur.
- 1989: Ernesto Ruffo Appel of the National Action Party becomes the first non-Institutional Revolutionary Party governor of Baja California and the first opposition governor of any state since the Revolution. Baja California would acquire a reputation as a stronghold for PAN into the 2010s.
Geography
File:Baja coast.jpg|thumb|left|Leptosyne maritima growing on the Ensenada Municipality coast, typical of the California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion
Temperate winds from the Pacific Ocean and the cold California Current make the climate along the northwestern coast pleasant year-round. As a result of the state's location on the California Current, rains from the north barely reach the peninsula, thus leaving southern areas drier. South of the El Rosario River, the state changes from a Mediterranean landscape to a desert one. This desert exhibits diverse succulent species that flourish in part due to the coastal fog.
To the east, the Sonoran Desert enters the state from both California and Sonora. Some of the highest temperatures in Mexico are recorded in or nearby the Mexicali Valley. However, with irrigation from the Colorado River, this area has become a true agricultural center. The Cerro Prieto geothermal province is near Mexicali as well ; it produces about 80% of the electricity consumed in the state and enough additional power to export to California. Laguna Salada, a saline lake below sea level lying between the rugged Sierra de Juárez and the Sierra de los Cucapah, is also in the vicinity of Mexicali. The state government has recently been considering plans to revive Laguna Salada. The highest mountain in the Sierra de los Cucapah is Cerro del Centinela or Mount Signal. The Cucapah are the primary indigenous people from the mountains north to Yuma, Arizona.
File:Ensenada Grande.jpg|thumb|right|Isla Partida, part of the San Lorenzo Marine Archipelago National Park
There are numerous islands on the Pacific shore. Guadalupe Island is located in the extreme west of the state's boundaries and is the site of large colonies of sea lions. Cedros Island exists in the southwest of the state's maritime region. The Todos Santos islands and Coronado Islands are located off the coasts of Ensenada and Tijuana, respectively. All of the islands in the Gulf of California on the Baja California side belong to the municipality of Mexicali.
Baja California obtains much of its water from the Colorado River. Historically, the river drained into the Colorado River Delta and then flowed into the Gulf of California, but due to large demands for water in the American Southwest, less water now reaches the Gulf. The Tijuana metropolitan area also relies on the Tijuana River as a source of water. Much of rural Baja California depends predominantly on wells, a few dams and even oases. Tijuana also purchases water from San Diego County's Otay Water District. Potable water is the largest natural resource issue of the state.