Bahía de Banderas
Encyclopedia
Bahía de Banderas is both a bay and a municipality
in the Mexican
state of Nayarit
.
The bay, site of the tourist destination Puerto Vallarta
, is bounded on the north by Punta Mita
and on the south by Cape Corrientes
. It straddles the states of Jalisco
and Nayarit
and is the largest natural bay in Mexico.
The municipality had a population of 83,739 in 2005 (59,808 in 2000) in a total area of 773.3 km². The municipal seat is Valle de Banderas
with a population of 5,057 in 2005. Other towns are San Juan de Abajo (8,159), Bucerías (5,711), San José del Valle (5,188), San Vicente (3,543) and Jarretaderas (3,426). The municipality was created in 1989.
In the north the municipality borders Compostela
, in the east with the state of Jalisco
, in the south with the Pacific Ocean
and the state of Jalisco
, and in the west with the Pacific Ocean
.
The economy is based on tourism
, fishing
and agriculture
. The main crops are corn
(maize), beans, sorghum
, tobacco
, rice
, watermelon
and mango
. Exotic fruits like papaya
, litchi and guanábana are also grown. Most of the planted area is irrigated. There are several packing houses for papaya and other fruits.
Tourism is very important and Bahía de Banderas is the most important site of touristic development in the state. With a coastline of 68 kilometers, Bahía de Banderas has attractive beaches and landscapes that have spurred development in the touristic sector. The long valley and abundance of water allow for extensive cattle raising. The mountains constitute an important ecological reserve.
Banderas Bay is also an important breeding and birthing ground for the Humpback whale
(Megaptera novaeangliae).
before it was rifted off the North American Plate
millions of years ago, forming the Gulf of California
.
Municipalities of Mexico
Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...
in the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state of Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
.
The bay, site of the tourist destination Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
, is bounded on the north by Punta Mita
Punta Mita
Punta Mita is a beachfront village located on the north end of Banderas Bay in the Mexican state of Nayarit, about north of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. There is evidence of prehistoric human settlement in Nayarit...
and on the south by Cape Corrientes
Cabo Corrientes
Cabo Corrientes is a cape on the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It marks the southernmost point of the Bahía de Banderas, upon which the port and resort city of Puerto Vallarta stands. The municipality in which the cape lies is also called Cabo Corrientes.Cabo Corrientes is a...
. It straddles the states of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
and Nayarit
Nayarit
Nayarit officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.It is located in Western Mexico...
and is the largest natural bay in Mexico.
The municipality had a population of 83,739 in 2005 (59,808 in 2000) in a total area of 773.3 km². The municipal seat is Valle de Banderas
Valle de Banderas
Valle de Banderas is a town in the state of Nayarit, Mexico.It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of Bahía de Banderas. The population was 5,528 in 2000....
with a population of 5,057 in 2005. Other towns are San Juan de Abajo (8,159), Bucerías (5,711), San José del Valle (5,188), San Vicente (3,543) and Jarretaderas (3,426). The municipality was created in 1989.
In the north the municipality borders Compostela
Compostela, Nayarit
Compostela is the name of both a municipality and the town within that municipality that serves as the seat. They are in the Mexican state of Nayarit. The population of the municipality was 62,925 in a total area of 1,848 km²...
, in the east with the state of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, in the south with the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and the state of Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, and in the west with the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
The economy is based on tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The main crops are corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
(maize), beans, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
and mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
. Exotic fruits like papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
, litchi and guanábana are also grown. Most of the planted area is irrigated. There are several packing houses for papaya and other fruits.
Tourism is very important and Bahía de Banderas is the most important site of touristic development in the state. With a coastline of 68 kilometers, Bahía de Banderas has attractive beaches and landscapes that have spurred development in the touristic sector. The long valley and abundance of water allow for extensive cattle raising. The mountains constitute an important ecological reserve.
Banderas Bay is also an important breeding and birthing ground for the Humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
(Megaptera novaeangliae).
Geology
The Bahía de Banderas is regarded by most geologists as the original attachment point for the southern cape of the Baja California PeninsulaBaja California Peninsula
The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...
before it was rifted off the North American Plate
North American Plate
The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...
millions of years ago, forming the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
.