San Jose Channel/Isla San Francisco
Cruising at the southern end of the San Jose Channel, the sun rose over Isla San Francisco and illuminated the rainbow-colored volcanic ash layers of the Sierra de la Giganta (Mountains of the Giantess) on the Baja California Peninsula. An actual rainbow appeared to highlight and increase the drama on the morning stage.
In our search for marine life, we had glimpses of dolphins, Bryde’s whales, and leaping Mobula rays. Bird life included the nearly-endemic yellow-footed gull, a group of Bonapartes gulls, brown boobies, and soaring frigatebirds.
During our circumnavigation of Isla San Jose, Jason did a presentation about Baja geology, with graphics that helped explain the complex events that created the features we see here today. In contrast to Magdalena Bay’s soft dunes and gradual slopes, the abrupt topography in the Sea of Cortez attests to explosive volcanism in the past, and faulting and erosion that continues today.
We spent the afternoon anchored in a protected half-moon bay on Isla San Francisco. Intermittent drizzle didn’t deter our activities. The kayaks were launched for exploration of the shoreline, and hikers dispersed to examine desert vegetation and photograph panoramic views from a point on a ridge above the bay. Many people wound up on the far side of the island for tide-pooling. Turning over rocks, we discovered brittle stars, urchins, sea cucumbers, sea slugs, nudibranches, flatworms, and much more.
With such a wide range of activities and experiences, we completed the day feeling that we had truly begun to grasp the varied plenty of this desert by the sea.
Cruising at the southern end of the San Jose Channel, the sun rose over Isla San Francisco and illuminated the rainbow-colored volcanic ash layers of the Sierra de la Giganta (Mountains of the Giantess) on the Baja California Peninsula. An actual rainbow appeared to highlight and increase the drama on the morning stage.
In our search for marine life, we had glimpses of dolphins, Bryde’s whales, and leaping Mobula rays. Bird life included the nearly-endemic yellow-footed gull, a group of Bonapartes gulls, brown boobies, and soaring frigatebirds.
During our circumnavigation of Isla San Jose, Jason did a presentation about Baja geology, with graphics that helped explain the complex events that created the features we see here today. In contrast to Magdalena Bay’s soft dunes and gradual slopes, the abrupt topography in the Sea of Cortez attests to explosive volcanism in the past, and faulting and erosion that continues today.
We spent the afternoon anchored in a protected half-moon bay on Isla San Francisco. Intermittent drizzle didn’t deter our activities. The kayaks were launched for exploration of the shoreline, and hikers dispersed to examine desert vegetation and photograph panoramic views from a point on a ridge above the bay. Many people wound up on the far side of the island for tide-pooling. Turning over rocks, we discovered brittle stars, urchins, sea cucumbers, sea slugs, nudibranches, flatworms, and much more.
With such a wide range of activities and experiences, we completed the day feeling that we had truly begun to grasp the varied plenty of this desert by the sea.
