Loreto was the first settlement established in the Califfornias in 1697 and served as the capital of Baja for 133 years. The first mission, Mission Nuestra Senora de Loreto, founded by the the Jesuit Padre Juan Maria Salvatieerra, was the first mission in a chain of 17 that sprawled to the north as far as Sonoma, California. The capital was moved to La Paz after a hurricane devastated the town in 1829.

Loreto is located on the eastern side of the Gulf of California also known as the Sea of Cortez. At one time this isolated peninsula was attached to mainland Mexico. Over 25 million years ago this long" finger" of land began to separate along a crack way below the earth's surface, known as the San Andreas fault. As the gap widened, the Pacific Ocean rushed in and created the new sea. As the sea rose over thousands of years mountains and hills that attached this land to the mainland, became islands. The islands of Coronados, Carmen, Danzante, Montserrat, and Catalan and the surrounding waters create a spectacular aquatic playground.

Located in a lush, green, palm laden oasis next to the blue waters of the Sea of Cortez, Loreto is home to one of Mexico's national marine parks, Loreto Marine Reserve, where over 3,000 species thrive in its clear, warm waters.

Click here for a map of loreto.

top