Punta Abreojos is a fishing town in the municipality of

Mulegé Mulegé is a city in Mulegé Municipality, Baja California Sur, situated on the Gulf of California. Located on the Gulf of California, the population was 3,834 according to the Mexican census of 2020. History Indigenous peoples have lived in ...

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is located at the entrance to Laguna La Bocana, and is close to Estero Coyote.]s. #Rains, Rains (2006) An isolated hill, high, rises a few miles behind the town, and is a conspicuous landmark for sailors. Several

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...

are situated near the town. The origin of the name Punta Abreojos is unclear. Some suggest it was named by

Francisco de Bolaños Francisco de Bolaños was a Spanish explorer who most notably conducted an expedition in either 1541 or 1542 exploring the west coast of Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula. The maps produced during his expedition are thought to have had an ...

, whose expedition reached the headland, but no further. Myers (2004), pp. 209, 226. ' means "open your eyes", and refers to the treacherous sailing conditions, with many rocks and reefs. Myers (2004), pp. 209, 378. Numerous maps from the 17th century label the rocks offshore "The Briars" or "Los Abrojos" which refers to thorns,

caltrops A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, jackrock or crow's foot''Battle of Alesia'' (Julius Caesar, Caesar's conquest of Gaul in 52 BC), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09- ...

, or submerged rocks - these names for the point or its offshore rocks long predate the name Punta Abreojos, but make for a likely origin of that name. A similar set of rocks off the Western Australian shore are called "

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral r ...

" as "abrolhos" in Portuguese means the same thing as "abrojos" in Spanish, either thorns or specifically plants in the genus

Tribulus ''Tribulus'' is a genus of plants in the family Zygophyllaceae and found in diverse climates and soils worldwide from latitudes 35°S to 47°N. The best-known member is '' T. terrestris'' (puncture vine), a widespread invasive species and weed. ...

(which have extremely thorny seeds). Coincidentally, a non-native Tribulus is now a common weed around the town of Punta Abreojos and the offshore rocks are now an important destination for local fishermen. Punta Abreojos is reached by driving west from the Transpeninsular Highway for about 80km of scenic desert and salt pans. Palmerlee (2007) The town comprises 500 houses, some grocery stores, an unofficial airstrip, a fish processing plant, several

hardware stores Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as Do it yourself, DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, Key (lock), keys, Lock (security ...

, a church, schools and a medical clinic. The town's main economic output is in fishing for

California spiny lobster The California spiny lobster (''Panulirus interruptus'') is a species of spiny lobster found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey Bay, California, to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico. It typically grows to a length of and is a reddish-brown ...

and

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen language, Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any small to very large marine life, marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now cont ...

Climate

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* * * * Populated places in Baja California Sur Populated coastal places in Mexico {{BajaCaliforniaSur-geo-stub

Climate

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