Bahía Magdalena (Magdalena Bay) is a 50 km long
bay in
Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the
Mexican state of
Baja California Sur. It is protected from the
Pacific Ocean by the sandy barrier islands of
Isla Magdalena and
Isla Santa Margarita.
This bay is particularly noted for the seasonal migration of the California
Gray Whales that come here during winter to mate. The bay is also popular for commercial and sports
fishing. Nearby
mangrove swamps provide sanctuaries for sea birds. The bay includes the small fishing port of
San Carlos, as well as
Puerto López Mateos, which provides a good place to observe the whales.
In 1908, an American fleet of sixteen battleships on a cruise around the world, the
Great White Fleet, stopped in the Bay and carried out gunnery practice.
In 1912, Japan tried to purchase the harbor from Mexico. Barbara Tuchman's book
The Zimmerman Telegram mentions both the German kaiser as well as the Japanese Emperor attempting to utilize this and perhaps Whale Bay for military naval purposes pre-World War I.
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