San Felipe, Baja California
Encyclopedia
San Felipe is a town on the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez)
in the Mexican state of Baja California
, 190 km south of the United States border and within the municipality
of Mexicali. It also serves as a borough seat of its surrouding area.
Temperature
s in San Felipe average approximately 24 °C year-round. San Felipe is located in a unique ecosystem
, where the desert
meets the sea. Temperatures range from a nocturnal winter low of 4 °C to 46 °C in the shade during July and August. The Bay of San Felipe is 3 meters above sea level
. At low tide, the water can recede as much as 2 km. San Felipe experiences one of the largest tidal bores
in the world due in part to the Colorado River
delta
to the north. The seven-meter tides expose a kilometer of ocean
floor.
The port
of San Felipe is a small town historically dependent on fishing and now on tourism, catering mostly to U.S. travelers and containing an international airport
.
The population of San Felipe was 16,702 at the 2010 census, and can increase by up to 5,000 due to the presence of Canadian and U.S. part-time residents (retirees and vacation homeowners), who travel to the town from the United States during the American holidays spring break
and Memorial Day
.
on May 3, 1535. The history of San Felipe began later with the expeditions of Francisco de Ulloa
, one of Cortés's captains who navigated the bay in September 1535. In 1536, Hernando de Alarcón
and Domingo Castillo explored the region and made the first detailed map of the peninsula, giving San Felipe its original name, Santa Catalina.
After the first expeditions were long forgotten, Father Eusebio Kino
rediscovered the Baja California peninsula in 1701. Juan de Ugarte
later built the first ship in Baja California and explored the area, arriving in San Felipe on July 5, 1721. Twenty-five years later Father Ferdinand Konščak
arrived and christened the bay San Felipe de Jesús. In 1766, Wenceslaus Linck
was the first person to reach San Felipe by land, and in 1772 the Lt. Governor of the Californias, José Joaquín de Arrillaga
, began to use it as a port from 1794. He also established the land route between San Felipe and Ensenada through Valle de la Trinidad.
It was not until 1925, during the administration of General Abelardo L. Rodríguez
, territorial governor, that San Felipe began to incorporate, when the first fishing camps were established and the government organized the first sub-delegation and school. Octavio Vega Ruiz was appointed sub-delegate and the basis for the growth and development of San Felipe were established during his administration from 1926 to 1942.
The sea transportation of both people and cargo also contributed to the integration of San Felipe as a township. Among the most celebrated ships of the era were José Ascolani's Trieste, and Pacita and Río Colorado, owned by Arnulfo Liera. By the end of the 1920s, San Felipe had nearly 100 permanent inhabitants, and in 1940 appeared for the first time in the census with 287 inhabitants.
By 1947, the Compañía Industrial del Golfo de Cortés, owned by José María Rodríguez Luján, bought the land from Guillermo Andrade's estate to build an international tourist center. The Mexicali-San Felipe highway began paving in 1948 and was completed in 1951. At the same time, the 15-room Hotel Augies (later the Villa del Mar, Trucha Vagabunda and Las Palmas Inn) opened. In 1959, the motel El Cortés was opened to the public.
Many new hotels were established in the 1960s, including Hotel Riviera, El Pescador, Arnold's del Mar and Arco Iris, and the tourist camps of Costa Azul, Las Arenas, Miramar, Playa Bonita, Playa de Laura, and Rubén's. The port had electricity by 1963 and piped drinking water by 1967. The 1970s saw the establishment of the government building, restaurants, bars, gas stations, a small boat anchorage, airport, sea walk, main boulevard and sewage system, as well as the first four-star hotel, the Playas de San Felipe, followed by the Fiesta Hotel. The La Hacienda opened in the 1980s; the Marina Resort and Spa in 1993.
Currently, San Felipe's income depends (in descending order of importance) upon tourism, shrimping and fishing.
has become a major attraction after the transport of one of these giant specimens to Seville, Spain for Seville Expo '92
. The area has also become a favorite spot for photographers worldwide. Local environmentalists are lobbying for the protection of the valley in the form of a Nature Reserve.
spot for residents of the Western U.S. states and northern Mexico, due to its many tourist attractions. Nightclubs and bars dot the beach areas. Some visitors enjoy camping on the beaches or off-roading on ATVs
and dirt bikes in the adjacent desert.
Several hotels, ranches, camp sites and RV parks in or near the town boast volleyball, tennis, pools, bathing areas and fishing. In 2005, San Felipe's first golf course, Las Caras de Mexico, opened to the public. This oceanside golf course is located at La Ventana del Mar.
Other popular activities are off-road racing events such as the Baja 250 and San Felipe 250, the former a spin-off from the popular Baja 1000
international race organized by SCORE
and the latter hosted by CODE, an off-road racing organization based in Mexicali. In 2007 the SCORE race was changed to Ensenada
due to a disagreement between the local ejidos, but the issues were resolved and returned to San Felipe in 2008 and has been held there since. Currently, CODE holds two races in the San Felipe Desert: the CODE San Felipe 200 in April and the CODE Race Ready 275 in December; the first is a loop around the deserts of San Felipe, while the other is a one-way race from Mexicali to San Felipe at the end of the season.
Another visitor attraction are the hot, sulfurous, geothermal springs at Puertecitos
on the Sea of Cortez, cooled somewhat by sea water.
In recent years, San Felipe locals and tourists have enjoyed a new activity, Carnaval
. It is often referred to as a Mexican Mardi Gras
but the name is an exaggeration, since the locale is smaller than in other Mexican carnivals.
New to the San Felipe Calendar of Events is the International Blues & Arts Fiesta, a San Felipe Lions Club fundraiser held the last Saturday in March. www.bluesandarts.com.
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
in the Mexican state of Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, 190 km south of the United States border and within the municipality
Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...
of Mexicali. It also serves as a borough seat of its surrouding area.
Temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
s in San Felipe average approximately 24 °C year-round. San Felipe is located in a unique ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
, where the desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
meets the sea. Temperatures range from a nocturnal winter low of 4 °C to 46 °C in the shade during July and August. The Bay of San Felipe is 3 meters above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. At low tide, the water can recede as much as 2 km. San Felipe experiences one of the largest tidal bores
Tidal bore
A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current...
in the world due in part to the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
to the north. The seven-meter tides expose a kilometer of ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
floor.
The port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
of San Felipe is a small town historically dependent on fishing and now on tourism, catering mostly to U.S. travelers and containing an international airport
San Felipe International Airport
San Felipe International Airport is an international airport located 11 km south of the central business district of San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico, a town located on the Gulf of California coast....
.
The population of San Felipe was 16,702 at the 2010 census, and can increase by up to 5,000 due to the presence of Canadian and U.S. part-time residents (retirees and vacation homeowners), who travel to the town from the United States during the American holidays spring break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
and Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
.
History
The Baja California Peninsula was discovered by Hernán CortésHernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
on May 3, 1535. The history of San Felipe began later with the expeditions of Francisco de Ulloa
Francisco de Ulloa
Francisco de Ulloa was a Spanish explorer who explored the west coast of present-day Mexico under the commission of Hernán Cortés...
, one of Cortés's captains who navigated the bay in September 1535. In 1536, Hernando de Alarcón
Hernando de Alarcón
Hernando de Alarcón, a Spanish navigator of the 16th century, noted for having led an early expedition to the Baja California peninsula, meant to be coordinated with Francisco Vasquéz de Coronado's overland expedition, and for penetrating the lower Colorado River, perhaps as far as the modern...
and Domingo Castillo explored the region and made the first detailed map of the peninsula, giving San Felipe its original name, Santa Catalina.
After the first expeditions were long forgotten, Father Eusebio Kino
Eusebio Kino
Eusebio Francisco Kino S.J. was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who became famous in what is now northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States in the region then known as the Pimaria Alta...
rediscovered the Baja California peninsula in 1701. Juan de Ugarte
Juan de Ugarte
Juan de Ugarte was a Jesuit missionary-explorer in Baja California Sur, Mexico, and the successor to Juan María de Salvatierra as head of the peninsula's missions.Ugarte was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras...
later built the first ship in Baja California and explored the area, arriving in San Felipe on July 5, 1721. Twenty-five years later Father Ferdinand Konščak
Ferdinand Konšcak
Ferdinand Konščak was a Jesuit missionary, explorer, and cartographer.-Education:...
arrived and christened the bay San Felipe de Jesús. In 1766, Wenceslaus Linck
Wenceslaus Linck
Wenceslaus Linck was the last of the outstanding Jesuit missionary-explorers in Baja California.Born in Bohemia , he entered the Jesuit order at age 18 and studied at Brno and Prague. In New Spain, he continued his studies in Mexico City and Puebla between 1756 and 1761...
was the first person to reach San Felipe by land, and in 1772 the Lt. Governor of the Californias, José Joaquín de Arrillaga
José Joaquín de Arrillaga
José Joaquín de Arrillaga was interim governor of Las Californias from 1792 to 1794, governor of Las Californias from 1800 to 1804 and governor of Alta California from 1804 to 1814.-Death:...
, began to use it as a port from 1794. He also established the land route between San Felipe and Ensenada through Valle de la Trinidad.
It was not until 1925, during the administration of General Abelardo L. Rodríguez
Abelardo L. Rodríguez
Abelardo Rodríguez Luján, commonly known as Abelardo L. Rodríguez was the interim president of Mexico from 1932–1934, completing the term of Pascual Ortiz after his resignation.-Early life:...
, territorial governor, that San Felipe began to incorporate, when the first fishing camps were established and the government organized the first sub-delegation and school. Octavio Vega Ruiz was appointed sub-delegate and the basis for the growth and development of San Felipe were established during his administration from 1926 to 1942.
The sea transportation of both people and cargo also contributed to the integration of San Felipe as a township. Among the most celebrated ships of the era were José Ascolani's Trieste, and Pacita and Río Colorado, owned by Arnulfo Liera. By the end of the 1920s, San Felipe had nearly 100 permanent inhabitants, and in 1940 appeared for the first time in the census with 287 inhabitants.
By 1947, the Compañía Industrial del Golfo de Cortés, owned by José María Rodríguez Luján, bought the land from Guillermo Andrade's estate to build an international tourist center. The Mexicali-San Felipe highway began paving in 1948 and was completed in 1951. At the same time, the 15-room Hotel Augies (later the Villa del Mar, Trucha Vagabunda and Las Palmas Inn) opened. In 1959, the motel El Cortés was opened to the public.
Many new hotels were established in the 1960s, including Hotel Riviera, El Pescador, Arnold's del Mar and Arco Iris, and the tourist camps of Costa Azul, Las Arenas, Miramar, Playa Bonita, Playa de Laura, and Rubén's. The port had electricity by 1963 and piped drinking water by 1967. The 1970s saw the establishment of the government building, restaurants, bars, gas stations, a small boat anchorage, airport, sea walk, main boulevard and sewage system, as well as the first four-star hotel, the Playas de San Felipe, followed by the Fiesta Hotel. The La Hacienda opened in the 1980s; the Marina Resort and Spa in 1993.
Currently, San Felipe's income depends (in descending order of importance) upon tourism, shrimping and fishing.
The Valley of the Giants
The natural reserve of the thousand-year-old Cardon CactusPachycereus pringlei
Pachycereus pringlei is a species of cactus that is native to northwestern Mexico in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, and Sonora...
has become a major attraction after the transport of one of these giant specimens to Seville, Spain for Seville Expo '92
Seville Expo '92
The Universal Exposition of Seville took place from Monday, April 20 to Monday, October 12, 1992 on La Isla de La Cartuja , Seville, Spain. The theme for the Expo was "The Age of Discovery" and over 100 countries were represented...
. The area has also become a favorite spot for photographers worldwide. Local environmentalists are lobbying for the protection of the valley in the form of a Nature Reserve.
Tourism
San Felipe is a popular spring breakSpring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
spot for residents of the Western U.S. states and northern Mexico, due to its many tourist attractions. Nightclubs and bars dot the beach areas. Some visitors enjoy camping on the beaches or off-roading on ATVs
All-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
and dirt bikes in the adjacent desert.
Several hotels, ranches, camp sites and RV parks in or near the town boast volleyball, tennis, pools, bathing areas and fishing. In 2005, San Felipe's first golf course, Las Caras de Mexico, opened to the public. This oceanside golf course is located at La Ventana del Mar.
Other popular activities are off-road racing events such as the Baja 250 and San Felipe 250, the former a spin-off from the popular Baja 1000
Baja 1000
SCORE Baja 1000 is an off-road race that takes place on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula in November. The Baja 1000 is part of the SCORE Championship Desert Racing Series that include the Baja 500, San Felipe 250 and the new San Felipe Challenge of Champions in place of the Primm 300 which had...
international race organized by SCORE
SCORE International
SCORE International is an off-road sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing and is famous for its flagship event, the Baja 1000 as well as the Baja 500 and San Felipe 250. SCORE races are held in United States and Mexico...
and the latter hosted by CODE, an off-road racing organization based in Mexicali. In 2007 the SCORE race was changed to Ensenada
Ensenada, Baja California
Ensenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...
due to a disagreement between the local ejidos, but the issues were resolved and returned to San Felipe in 2008 and has been held there since. Currently, CODE holds two races in the San Felipe Desert: the CODE San Felipe 200 in April and the CODE Race Ready 275 in December; the first is a loop around the deserts of San Felipe, while the other is a one-way race from Mexicali to San Felipe at the end of the season.
Another visitor attraction are the hot, sulfurous, geothermal springs at Puertecitos
Puertecitos
The town of Puertecitos is located 90 kilometers south of San Felipe, in the Mexican state of Baja California. Puertecitos is a tourist spot for both vacationers and expatriates from the United States. The Puertecitos bay, which was permanently settled in 1949 by Rafael Orozco, overlooks the Sea...
on the Sea of Cortez, cooled somewhat by sea water.
In recent years, San Felipe locals and tourists have enjoyed a new activity, Carnaval
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
. It is often referred to as a Mexican Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
but the name is an exaggeration, since the locale is smaller than in other Mexican carnivals.
New to the San Felipe Calendar of Events is the International Blues & Arts Fiesta, a San Felipe Lions Club fundraiser held the last Saturday in March. www.bluesandarts.com.
See also
- Municipality of Mexicali
- San Felipe International AirportSan Felipe International AirportSan Felipe International Airport is an international airport located 11 km south of the central business district of San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico, a town located on the Gulf of California coast....
- San Felipe 250San Felipe 250Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 is an off-road race that takes place on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula in late February or early March. The San Felipe 250 is part of a series of races that include the Baja 1000, Baja 500 and Primm 300...