Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park is a national park in the Mexican

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. The Park is part of the municipality of Ensenada,

. The area was first explored by Europeans in 1701 by

Eusebio Francisco Kino Eusebio Francisco Kino ( it, Eusebio Francesco Chini, es, Eusebio Francisco Kino; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was a Tyrolean Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer and astronomer born in ...

by Dominican orders. The park is known for its pine trees and granite rock formations.

Sierra de San Pedro Mártir Sierra de San Pedro Mártir ( Kiliwa: ʔxaal haq, en, mountains of Saint Peter the Martyr) is a mountain range located within southern Ensenada Municipality and southern Baja California state, of northwestern Mexico. It is a major mountain ran ...

is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

that runs north-south along the middle part of northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. with its name Spanish for "mountains of Saint Peter the Martyr.

Picacho del Diablo ('Devil's Peak') is the highest peak on the Baja California peninsula, measuring . It is alternately called , meaning 'Hill of the Enchanted' or 'Hill of the Bewitched'. The peak is located in the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir, a part of the Pen ...

(Devil's Peak) is the highest peak in the park and in

with its summit reaching . Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park is one of the few pine forests that exists on the Baja California peninsula that is important habitat for native

Bighorn Sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

. In addition the park is home to the

California condor The California condor (''Gymnogyps californianus'') is a New World vulture and the largest North American land bird. It became extinct in the wild in 1987 when all remaining wild individuals were captured, but has since been reintroduced to nort ...

through re-introduction program by several international agencies. The National Astronomical Observatory, built in 1971 on a neighboring peak, ''Cerro del la Cúpula'', is home to Mexico's largest optical telescope, with a diameter of 2.12 meters, and a weight of 40 tons in total. The observatory is the second most important in Latin America.

History

Mountains03-Sierra SanPedroMartir-BajaCalifornia-Mexico

The first explorations of the region were realized by the Jesuit order during the evangelization era of the neo-Hispanic territories of California. The regions of the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir are thought to have been explored by father

and father Wenceslao Link in 1701. Later the Dominicans continuing the evangelization movement built the Misión de San Pedro Mártir de Verona in the southern part of the park, but only ruins are left of the site. Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park was officially created by decree on April 26, 1947, in which 72,909 hectares were set aside and declared protected by the Mexican Federal government. The National Astronomical Observatory is located at an elevation of . The observatory was built in 1975, and has several large

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

s, the largest of which is . The observatory takes advantage of the high elevation, along with typically clear skies, low relative humidity, low atmospheric pollution, low light pollution, and low levels of radio interference.

Geography

Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park is a national park located on the northern part of the ''Cordillera Baja California'' Mountain Range, known as Sierra de San Pedro Mártir. The elevated peak is thought to have begun to rise in the Paleozoic era through tectonic rifts. Sierra de San Pedro Mártir a rugged mountain range with drastic topological changes covered with pine forest and surrounded by large deserts. Because it is surrounded by deserts, the park is often described as an oasis."Sierra de San Pedro Mártir. Relevancia"
. De la web de CONANP. Consultado el 3 de enero de 2009. ''Picacho del Diablo'' is the highest peak in the park measuring above sea level. Picacho del Diablo is on the east side of the park. Throughout the park there are several deep canyons and many abrupt topological changes.

Climate

The Sierra de San Pedro Mártir Mountain Range has two main climates with an average annual temperature of . A Continental climate Dsa in the higher elevations and semiarid climate in the lower elevations. In the higher elevations the rainy season comes during the winter with 36% precipitation falling with frequent rainstorms and several snowstorms. During the summer in the higher elevations with 22.9% precipitation falling. Winters are mild with temperatures typically varying from . Summers are warm with temperatures varying from . Temperatures vary drastically throughout the park according to elevation due to dramatic topographical changes. During the winter in the extreme high elevations large amount of snow accumulates while in the summer the lower elevations exceed .

Flora and fauna

Devils-Peak Sierra-SanPedroMartir BajaCalifornia Mexico

Mountains01-Sierra SanPedroMartir-BajaCalifornia-Mexico

San-Felipe Sierra-SanPedroMartir BajaCalifornia Mexico

Sierra de San Pedro Mártir contains several coniferous species; the most abundant are: ''

Pinus lambertiana ''Pinus lambertiana'' (commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine) is the tallest and most massive pine tree, and has the longest cones of any conifer. The species name ''lambertiana'' was given by the Scottish botanist David Douglas, ...

'', ''

Pinus quadrifolia ''Pinus quadrifolia'', the Parry pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group native to southernmost California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico, from 33° 30' N south to 30° 30' N. The Parry pinyon has a lifespan of aro ...

'', ''

Pinus jeffreyi ''Pinus jeffreyi'', also known as Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine and black pine, is a North American pine tree. It is mainly found in California, but also in the westernmost part of Nevada, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja Califo ...

'', ''

Abies concolor ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges ...

'', and species of '' Cupressus'' mostly found in the higher elevations. The flora is distinct from the flora of the rest of Mexico, and shares many species with the

Laguna Mountains The Laguna Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System in eastern San Diego County, southern California. The mountains run in a northwest/southeast alignment for approximately . The mountains have long been inhabited by the i ...

and

San Jacinto Mountains The San Jacinto Mountains (''Avii Hanupach''Munro, P., et al. ''A Mojave Dictionary''. Los Angeles: UCLA. 1992. in Mojave) are a mountain range in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mo ...

in southwest

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The lower elevations of the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir are defined by chaparral and desert shrub. Sierra de San Pedro Mártir is a southern demarcation of the distribution of the

California fan palm ''Washingtonia filifera'', the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in Part), and Zi ...

, ''Washingtonia filifera''.C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''California Fan Palm: Washingtonia filifera''
GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg Throughout the park there are a great variety of mammals:

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

, cougar, bobcat, ringtail cat, coyote, rabbit, squirrel and more than 30 species of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s. The park is also home to many avian species like: bald eagle,

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

black vulture The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

, several species of

Sittidae The nuthatches () constitute a genus, ''Sitta'', of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Mo ...

. Captive-born

have been re-introduced to the wild in the Sierra San Pedro Martir, the first time they have been seen in the range since 1937. The condor was introduced into the park with international cooperation between the United States and Mexico. Local ecologists named the second generation of Californian condors "inyaa" (sun in the

Kiliwa language Kiliwa, alternate Names: ''Kiliwi, Ko’lew or Quiligua'' (in Kiliwa: Ko'leeu Nyaha) is a Yuman language spoken in Baja California, in the far northwest of Mexico, by the Kiliwa people. 76 people reported their language as Kiliwa in a 2020 censu ...

). image:Butt heads.jpg,

Bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

image:Calero Creek Trail Bobcat.jpg, Bobcat image:Mule Deer at Clearwater Pass 2.jpg,

Mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

Bibliography

''Vargas Márquez, Fernando''. 1984. ''Parques Nacionales de México y Reservas Equivalentes''. Pasado, presente y futuro. Los Bosques de México. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas. UNAM. México, D.F. 266 páginas.

References

External links

Información completa sobre el Parque de San Pedro Mártir

GoLatin.com: Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sierra De San Pedro Martir National Park National parks of Mexico Protected areas of Baja California Geography of Ensenada Municipality Landmarks in Ensenada Natural history of Baja California Important Bird Areas of Mexico