Lower California (redirected from Baja California peninsula)

Lower California: see Baja California.

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Lower California

a mountainous peninsula of NW Mexico, between the Pacific and the Gulf of California: administratively divided into the states of Baja California (or Baja California Norte) and Baja California Sur

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Lower California 

(also Baja California), a peninsula in western North America, in Mexico. It is bounded by the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean. Length, about 1, 200 km; width, 50–250 km; area, about 144, 000 sq km.

The coast of Lower California is precipitous (especially in the east); in places in the west there is a lagoon-type coast. There are numerous coastal islands and convenient harbors in the south. A chain of separate volcanic and crystalline blocks stretches along the peninsula, closer to its eastern shore. Most of them have altitudes of 500–1, 500 m, with the greatest elevation being 3, 078 m (La Encantada). Step-like plateaus with elevations of 1,000–1, 500 m, coastal lowlands, and the short Sierra Vizcaino range extend along the western edge. The climate is subtropical in the north and tropical in the south. In virtually all places precipitation is less than 250 mm a year. Fogs are frequent on the coast. The predominant soils are sierozems. Desert and semidesert vegetation predominates (various bushes, cacti, agaves, and yuccas); there are scattered forests in the mountains.