Gulf of California is a marine treasure

From the Colorado River delta in the north to the tip of land on the Baja peninsula, where it joins the Pacific Ocean, the waters of the Gulf of California are so rich in microscopic life called plankton that they turn the sea vermilion at times.

Surrounded by desert mountains, 100 islands and pinnacles in the Sea of Cortez (as the Gulf of California is also known) support a variety of animals and plants.

The sea contains a richness of life that lures divers and scientists to these waters to study and observe blue whales, the largest creatures on earth, and whale sharks, the largest fish in the oceans.

Small colorful invertebrates, thought to be rare in other places, abound in the waters between Mexico's mainland and the peninsula of land that extends almost 1,000 miles from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas.

When Tim Means came to the Baja from Arizona in the mid–1960s, he was so taken by the beauty and remoteness of the place that he stayed.

He formed a company called Baja Expeditions and took visitors on trips to explore rock art that Getty Foundation researchers dated as approximately 1,000 to 1,500 years old.

Enthralled by the size of the fish and marine mammals in the sea, "I decided to reconstruct a boat to run dive trips," he says. "There are big groupers, big mantas, big sharks, whale sharks, and many species of whales."

There is no better way to explore the underwater environment and islands in the Sea of Cortez than by boat. While other dive boats take day trips out of La Paz, leaving at 7 a.m. and returning at 6 p.m., Mr. Means's 80–foot live-aboard vessel, the Don Jose, takes week-long excursions and visits remote islands.

The islands and pinnacles are small, but, like icebergs, their volume is far greater underwater. Las Animas has a small horseshoe bay that offers protected anchorage. Pangas – outboard-powered launches towed by the Don Jose – take divers around the island to pinnacles where schools of jacks, tuna, and large groupers swim with seals and sea turtles.

The rocks around Las Animas sport a variety of nudibranch not often found in one place. Nudibranchs are mollusks without shells. Their bright colors and frilly gills warn fish that they are not tasty. Yellowtail surgeon fish and odd-looking striped hawkfish are everywhere. There is even a chance to see the timid scalloped hammerhead shark.

The rocky islands of Los Islotes are home to a permanent colony of California sea lions. Early summer is mating season, when the large males are protective of their harems.

Later, the rocks are home to mothers and little pups, who – along with frigate birds, brown pelicans, boobies, and rare Heermanns gulls – offer wonderful visual opportunities to photographers and naturalists.

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