Isla Rasa is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

east of the Baja California Peninsula. The island is uninhabited and is part of the

Mexicali Municipality Mexicali Municipality is a Municipalities of Mexico, municipality () in the Mexican States of Mexico, state of Baja California. Its municipal seat () is located in the city of Mexicali. As of 2020, the municipality had a total population of 1,04 ...

. The 0.21 sq./mi island has three small ponds and has small shed located in the center of the island.

Biology

Isla Rasa has three species of

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s: '' Phyllodactylus nocticolus'' (peninsular leaf-toed gecko), '' Sauromalus hispidus'' (spiny chuckwalla), and '' Uta stansburiana'' (common side-blotched lizard). Isla Rasa is also the primary nesting site for about 95% of the world's Heermann's gulls and elegant terns.

References

*{{cite book , last1 = Williams , first1 = J.H. , title = Baja Boaters Guide II: Sea of Cortez. , publisher = H.J. Williams Publications , pages = 55–56, 195–196 , date = August 1996 , isbn = 0-9616843-8-0 Islands of Mexicali Municipality Islands of Baja California Islands of the Gulf of California Uninhabited islands of Mexico Ramsar sites in Mexico