Bahía Magdalena

The Magdalena Bay is a saline bay and lagoon system in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the barrier islands of Isla Magdalena and Isla Santa Margarita. The Magdalena Bay lagoon complex forms the largest embayment on the Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula. The bay is ecologically important as one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands on the Pacific coast of North America, and the largest complex of mangrove forests on the peninsula, with over 200 km (124 mi) of estuaries and wetlands supporting wildlife, and the waterways serve as essential habitat for marine animals like gray whales and sea turtles and nurseries for fish and invertebrates. The surrounding coastal lowlands form a unique ecoregion and geophysical feature known as the Magdalena Plains, which includes an extensive fog desert characterized by a rich diversity of plant life and a number of endemic species.