Satellite image of San Ignacio Lagoon
Satellite image of San Ignacio Lagoon, January 1997. The dark, finger-like protrusion of the Pacific Ocean that extends into the southwest coast of Baja California is called Laguna San Ignacio. Laguna San Ignacio is one of several breeding lagoons that gray whales use along the west coast of Baja California. Smaller estuaries (dark features) that parallel the coast are also visible. The flat, highly reflective terrain immediately west of the large lagoon has been converted into an area where salt ponds have been established for the commercial production of salt. Seawater is pumped through a series of gravity fed ponds thereby increasing the salt content through a natural evaporation process. The deeply eroded plateau structures northwest and especially southeast of the Laguna San Ignacio are part of a series of volcanic erosional surfaces that have formed along the west coast of Baja California. The single, narrow, light colored line is a road that connects the coastal area with the other parts of Baja California.
