Gorda Bank and Land’s End
Located near the colorful city of Cabo San Lucas, Friar’s Rocks are the southernmost point of the Baja California peninsula. This point, also known as Land’s End, is where the waters of the Pacific Ocean meet the Gulf of California, just south of the Tropic of Cancer. This evening we sailed into the Pacific Ocean and towards a gorgeous setting sun as the Sea Bird began it’s 15 hour transit to Magdalena Bay on the west side of the Baja California peninsula. Our passage into the Pacific was witnessed by scores of brown pelicans, magnificent frigatebirds, and even a lone peregrine falcon on the rocky heights above.
Geologically, much of the southern end of the Baja California peninsula is composed of granitic rocks. Granite, a type of igneous rock, was originally part of a molten magma chamber deep in the earth’s crust. This magma began cooling very slowly over 70 million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed our world. Subsequent uplift and erosion has exposed these rocks at the earth’s surface, where they now form the backbone of Baja California’s southern-most mountain range, the Sierra de la Laguna. Along the coast, where these rocks are exposed to the powerfully erosive forces of the Pacific, sea stacks and sea arches have formed, such as those at Friar’s Rocks. It is interesting to note that these dramatic cliffs now provide a craggy perch for the dinosaurs’ descendants—birds.
Located near the colorful city of Cabo San Lucas, Friar’s Rocks are the southernmost point of the Baja California peninsula. This point, also known as Land’s End, is where the waters of the Pacific Ocean meet the Gulf of California, just south of the Tropic of Cancer. This evening we sailed into the Pacific Ocean and towards a gorgeous setting sun as the Sea Bird began it’s 15 hour transit to Magdalena Bay on the west side of the Baja California peninsula. Our passage into the Pacific was witnessed by scores of brown pelicans, magnificent frigatebirds, and even a lone peregrine falcon on the rocky heights above.
Geologically, much of the southern end of the Baja California peninsula is composed of granitic rocks. Granite, a type of igneous rock, was originally part of a molten magma chamber deep in the earth’s crust. This magma began cooling very slowly over 70 million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed our world. Subsequent uplift and erosion has exposed these rocks at the earth’s surface, where they now form the backbone of Baja California’s southern-most mountain range, the Sierra de la Laguna. Along the coast, where these rocks are exposed to the powerfully erosive forces of the Pacific, sea stacks and sea arches have formed, such as those at Friar’s Rocks. It is interesting to note that these dramatic cliffs now provide a craggy perch for the dinosaurs’ descendants—birds.
