Last month, Rex Dalton told us about a major earthquake in Baja Mexico that in addition to killing two people had the unfortunate local consequence of sealing off a traditional fishing spot that sustains the Cucapá Indian community. In “Quake Rescues Reserve, Shakes Baja Fishing Town,” he noted that aftereffects of the 7.2-magnitude Easter 2010 earthquake pleased conservationists as much as it annoyed the subsistence fishermen, and for exactly the same reasons. In the pleased column now add seismologists. The U.S. Geological Survey just announced that the El Mayor-Cucapah quake ... Read More
San Quintín and Brackish-Water Farming
May 28, 2010 • By • 3 Comments
While traveling in Baja California, Kristian Beadle finds that water issues inland present a challenge and a threat to agriculture and the economy. Location: Just inland of Cabo San Quintín, around the corner from a huge bay/wetland, lays an agricultural complex that serves the U.S. market. Conditions: A generator whines and whirrs in the evening air — there is no grid electricity in this beach community. High-altitude clouds cover the night sky. Discussion: The trans-peninsular highway cuts through innumerable small towns south of Ensenada; dusty farmlands blur in the glare of ... Read More
