An isolated, jagged finger of mountains and desert between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortes, Baja California was once Mexico’s forgotten peninsula. Today it contains the country’s fastest growing tourist destination.

Though superficially barren and desolate, the Baja California peninsula has long entranced scientists and adventurers. Long and lean, the Baja California peninsula gradually separated from the mainland five million years ago along the San Andreas Fault, bringing with it a series of mountain ranges.

Baja’s two coastlines attract fishermen, surfers, divers, and sailors craving extremes. The Pacific side is renowned for its awesome waves, massive billfish, and migrating whales; the Gulf of California is a biologist’s dream. Here, thousands of species of marine creatures flourish in protected coves and open waters.

Despite the harshness of Baja’s terrain, its plant and animal life is surprisingly abundant and varied. Lynx, mountain lion, bighorn sheep, and white-tailed deer roam undisturbed by humans in national parks and wilderness regions far from paved roads.