Baja California (redirected from Baja, California)

Baja California, state, Mexico

Baja California (Span.: bä`hä kälēfōr`nyä), state (1990 pop. 1,660,855), 27,628 sq mi (71,576 sq km), NW Mexico, on the Baja California peninsula. Mexicali is the capital. A rapidly growing state, Baja California is a center of development for maquiladoras, foreign-owned assembly plants that produce finished goods for export to the United States. The plants are centered around Mexicali and Tijuana. Mexicali also serves as the center of a rich cotton producing area, while Tijuana is a noted tourist center and point of entry from the United States. Ensenada is the state's most important port and is also a manufacturing, fishing, and tourist center. Baja California became a state in 1952.

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Baja California, peninsula, Mexico

Baja California or Lower California, peninsula, c.760 mi (1,220 km) long and from 30 to 150 mi (48–241 km) wide, NW Mexico, separating the Gulf of California from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula is divided at lat. 28° N into the state of Baja California in the north, and the state of Baja California Sur in the south. Except for two large coastal plains on the Pacific side, the peninsula consists largely of rugged mountain ranges averaging 5,000 ft (1,524 m), with one peak, San Pedro Martir, more than 10,000 ft (3,048 m) high. The land is generally desolate and arid. The only naturally cultivable areas are isolated mountain valleys. However, irrigation systems on the Colorado River have made possible the development of a rich farming area around Mexicali, and the region is a leading national producer of cotton and wheat. There are fisheries and fish canneries at Ensenada, which is also developing as a resort. Wealthy Mexicans, who have bought large estates and established resort ranches on the scenic coasts, have done much to stir tourist interest in regions other than the border towns and to open up hitherto inaccessible areas. Hunting and deep-sea fishing are favorite sports. Baja California Sur is not economically prosperous, although tourism is developing rapidly, particularly around Los Cabos. Perhaps the most important development for the northern state is the growth of U.S.- and foreign-owned factories (maquiladoras) in the border areas. A large, rapidly expanding population and low labor costs have led to the opening of many maquiladoras in Baja California. The coasts were first explored by Francisco de Ulloa and other Spaniards in the 1530s. Attempts to colonize the interior were largely unsuccessful. U.S. forces occupied (1847–48) Baja California during the Mexican War, and William Walker attempted (1853–54) to wrest it from Mexico in his first disastrous filibustering expedition. In 1911 the area was the scene of an abortive uprising against Porfirio Díaz—the so-called desert revolution led by Ricardo Flores Magón, a liberal anarchist, who was a precursor of Francisco Madero and Emiliano Zapata. The peninsula and surrounding waters are a paradise for naturalists and archaeologists, offering unparalleled opportunities for the study of marine life, plants and animals, and archaeological artifacts. Since 1962 remarkable mural paintings have been discovered in many caves there.

Bibliography

See J. Steinbeck, The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951); H. Crosby, Last of the Californias (1981); D. Polk, The Island of California (1991).

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Baja California

(Spanish; “Lower California”)

Peninsula, northwestern Mexico. Bounded by the U.S. to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Gulf of California to the east, it is about 760 mi (1,220 km) long and has an area of 55,366 sq mi (143,396 sq km). Politically, it is divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. It has more than 2,000 mi (3,200 km) of coastline, with sheltered harbours on both the western and gulf coasts. The area had been inhabited for some 9,000 years when the Spanish arrived in 1533. Jesuit missionaries established permanent settlements in the late 17th century, but the native Indians were practically exterminated in epidemics introduced by the Spanish. The area was separated from what is now the U.S. state of California by treaty in 1848 following the Mexican War.

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Baja California

 formerly Baja California Norte

State (pop., 2000: 2,487,367), northern Baja California peninsula, northwestern Mexico. It covers an area of 27,071 sq mi (70,114 sq km), and its capital is Mexicali. Although long inhabited, it remained sparsely populated until the 1950s, when it experienced phenomenal growth. This was partly because of its proximity to the U.S. border; numerous foreign companies have established assembly oriented factories (maquiladoras) in the region, a trend accelerated by the establishment of NAFTA in 1994.