96 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL. 1 



Gulf of California — West Coast 



Plates 37-60; Charts 48-62 



The Gulf of California is an area of major importance in the work of 

 the Allan Hancock Foundation, since it was the main base of operations 

 for three of the winter expeditions, those of 1936, 1937, and 1940. In 

 the attention paid to it, however, it falls relatively short of that paid to 

 the Galapagos Islands, for, although slightly more time has been spent in 

 the Gulf of California, the area included is more than twice as great as 

 that included in the Galapagos area. 



The Gulf, separated from the Pacific Ocean by the peninsula of 

 Lower California, is 650 miles long from southeast to northwest and 

 50 to 120 miles wide. Gales from the northwest in the winter months 

 and from the southeast in the summer months are not infrequent. In 

 several places, especially in the channels between the islands and the 

 mainland, the currents are strong and erratic, and for such an extensive 

 coast line anchorages, safe in all weather, are comparatively few. There 

 are few indications of foul ground such as are commonly present in the 

 open ocean. Nevertheless, in fair weather and under favorable conditions 

 generally, suitable spots for collecting can be found along the shore and 

 on the sea bottom in almost all parts of the Gulf. 



The east coast of Lower California, or the west coast of the Gulf, 

 is most commonly high and precipitous, with mountains often rising 

 abruptly close to the shore. There are sandy beaches, but they are seldom 

 of any great length. Depth increases rapidly offshore, but there are nu- 

 merous islands, often separated from the mainland and from each other 

 by navigable channels. The coast itself, as well as the adjacent islands, 

 has little precipitation ; and, while there are some fertile valleys and ar- 

 royos, general barrenness is evident. 



From the head of the Gulf southward, the east coast is very different 

 from the west coast. Although there are still the high mountains in the 

 background, the immediate foreground is, in the main, low and sandy; 

 and, with the exception of those some distance from shore, most of the 

 islands are in the nature of deltas. 



Physical, chemical, and meteorological conditions change materially 

 from the entrance of the Gulf to the head, and with these changes there 

 is, of course, a change in the flora and fauna. The lower portion is tropi- 

 cal, with warm water and corresponding fauna, indicated, for instance, 

 by the presence of coral masses. Toward the head it becomes much colder 

 and less saline, and the tropical species are replaced by those that inhabit 



