Ensenada, Baja California

Panoramic view of Ensenada.

The average rainfall is 280 millimetres (11 in) per year, falling mainly in the winter months. Ensenada has a mild semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), much like the rest of northwestern Baja California.[12] During the colder months from November to February, rainfall is scarce and temperatures average 13 °C (55 °F). On the other hand, the warmer months from June to September are the driest, and during this time maintain an average temperature of 21 °C (70 °F).

For Ensenada's warm summer coastal location, the city's climate is greatly affected by the offshore cold California Current. Due to the current, the late summer and early fall seasons are typically the warmest periods for the city. Santa Ana winds – observed in much of Southern California as well – are responsible for temperature rises at any time of the year. During Santa Anas, wind direction changes and brings warm air from the interior to the coast. Snowfall is rare with the last recent one in January 2007, when the hills south of the city received small amounts of snowfall.

Similar to the South Coast of California, Ensenada experiences the periodic May Gray and June Gloom marine layer effects.

The Baja Ha-Ha boat race in the Bahía de Todos Santos.

Ensenada is located some 108 kilometres (67 mi) south of the border with the United States, connected via a four-lane toll road MX-1D and a two lane free road, which makes it a natural destination for tourists on short vacations by car. Ensenada's proximity to California also makes it a destination for short cruise ship trips from Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. As of 2005, four cruise lines maintained ships that docked in Ensenada weekly, though, one of these ships—the Monarch of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines—ceased operations in the Pacific in mid-October 2008. The world-renowned Baja 1000 off-road race is held in Ensenada every year in late November, while the Baja 500 race is held in early June. Off-road enthusiasts use Ensenada year-round as a starting point to explore Baja California.

View of Malecón de Ensenada from Port of Ensenada on the Pacific Ocean.

Watersports and ocean proximity have formed an integral part of the structure of tourism and its relation to economics in the city. Ensenada and coastal beach towns of Greater Ensenada have several renowned surfing spots, such as San Miguel Beach, California Trailer Park, Stacks and 3 M's (Tres Emes in Spanish), which are located on the north coast of the city. Todos Santos Island is a small island located west of Ensenada (about two hours by boat) and a world-famous surfing spot. A number of surfing contests, such as the Billabong XXL. have been held at Todos Santos Island. Wave faces can reach above 18 metres (60 ft) on the island and in December 2006 Brad Gerlach, 2006 winner of Big XXL, surfed a wave of 21 metres (68 ft). Tourists also stop in the city on their way to their destinations farther south in the municipality where windsurfing spots are located. Maritime activities associated with the city also include the global Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race, billed as the world's largest international sailing event, which begins in Newport Beach and finishes in Ensenada. Racing is another yearly tourists attraction; where you can enjoy the Baja 1000 and Baja 500. Whale watching has also developed as a tourist draw in the city due to the gray whale's annual migration from Alaska to the lagoons of Baja California Sur. Between the months of December and March, and back in the months of April and May, whales can be seen from the coast of Ensenada.

Bar on the Ensenada coast.

The nearby historical mission town of Guadalupe, was revitalized from 1905 to 1910 with immigrant Spiritual Christians, mostly Pryguny from the Caucasus, South Russia. After WWII most moved to California to join more prosperous relatives, while many who remained intermarried with Mexicans and live in Ensenada and Tijuana. Two families remaining in the Guadalupe Valley opened museums, a cafe, and participate in wine tourism. The traditional economic activities in Guadalupe are olive and wine production. Currently, about 90% of wine production in Mexico originates in the valleys of Guadalupe and adjacent Calafia. Many local wine producers offer tours and tastings. Every year during the month of August, the beginning of wine harvest season is celebrated in the Guadalupe Valley and in the city of Ensenada with a two-week-long series of cultural and culinary events, all under the title banner of Fiestas de la Vendimia (Wine Harvest Festival). This event attracts people from all over the world.

Shops on Calle Primera.

There is a street in Ensenada called "La Calle Primera" or Adolfo Lopez Mateos ("1st Street"). It's a tourism spot in Ensenada due to its many "Curios" (short for "Curiosidades"—trinkets and souvenirs) shops, restaurants, hotels, bars, and popular clubs such as the Hussong's Cantina, Mini Bar, Shots Factory, Lutzenkirch The Nightclub and Papas & Beer. La Primera is a very busy street, filled with tourists and locals. La Primera is just one block away from Ventana al Mar ("Window to the Sea"), a boardwalk/seawall avenue where an enormous Mexican flag is located. The Ensenada Carnaval is one of the country's largest, as thousands of people gather in the streets for six days and nights. Just south of the city on Highway 1 is located one of the largest marine geysers in the world, colloquially known as La Bufadora ("The Blowhole"). La Bufadora attracts many tourists. The street leading to the viewpoint is a commercial area where a variety of authentic Mexican arts and crafts are for sale; bartering over prices with vendors is customary. There are also seafood restaurants and street vendors selling "churros" (fried pastry with cinnamon and sugar) and other delicacies.

View of Ensenada at night.

Ensenada is developing scientific research and natural science sectors, with special focus in the marine sciences sectors. Ensenada is claimed to be the city with the highest number of scientists per capita in Latin America.[20] The Center of Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE) conducts research in Earth Sciences, Applied Physics, Oceanography, Communications and Experimental and Applied Biology. Further research is conducted on the campus of the Autonomous University of Baja California, Ensenada (UABC), mainly in Oceanography and education areas although there are groups in Physics, Biology, and other related sciences. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has a research campus in the city. The campus hosts the Institute of Astronomy and the Centre for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology (CNyN). The National Astronomical Observatory (Mexico) is located on the mountains of the Sierra de San Pedro Martir, south of the city.

The city is home to the largest cluster of bio-medical device companies in Mexico and is a developing center that is drawing a growing number of biotech researchers.[21] Unique to the city is that its biotech cluster is near that of another, larger, cluster in San Diego. The proximity of these two biotech clusters fuels their interaction.[21]

The city is not part of any rail transport grid with which it could use to transport cargo and other materials, although there are plans to build a rail line to the United States border in the short to mid-term future that would link it to San Diego–Tijuana. Unlike the larger cities to the north, Ensenada has only six major industrial parks, compared to 26 in Mexicali and 51 in Tijuana, as its economy is more focused on tourism and technology. Fender guitars and Lowrance fishfinders are manufactured in Ensenada.

The Port of Ensenada is one of the busiest deepwater ports on the West Coast of North America.

The Port of Ensenada has a large influence on the civic economy. Ensenada is home to the only deep-water port in the state of Baja California and on the Baja California Peninsula. The port is part of standard shipping routes that directly link it with the Mexican cities of La Paz, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Acapulco and Lázaro Cárdenas; the American cities of San Diego, Long Beach and Los Angeles; the Guatemalan city of Puerto Quetzal, the Chilean city of Valparaíso, the Japanese city of Yokohama, and the city of Hong Kong. Ensenada is where the Fender standard series guitars and basses are produced.

In addition to revenue generated by docking cruise ships, fishing accounts for a large part of the economy. More than 90 species of fish are commercially fished in Ensenada; the most important fisheries are tuna, shrimp, California spiny lobster, abalone, sea urchin, sardine, mackerel and seaweed. A large percentage of all catches are exported to East Asia. A tuna embargo imposed on Mexico during the 1990s caused most of the fishing fleet to relocate to the ports of Guaymas, and Mazatlán, further south. To survive, Ensenada's tuna industry has shifted its focus to tuna farming, exporting the highly valued meat almost exclusively to Japan. Ensenada has been known for sports fishing over 50 years. Each year hundreds of anglers head for Ensenada to go fishing and take advantage of the shorter distances needed to travel by sea to get to the big catch.

The nearby Valle de Guadalupe is a major wine tourism destination.

The municipality of Ensenada has three main agricultural zones: the Guadalupe-Calafia valleys to the north, the Ojos Negros valley to the east and the San Quintin valley to the south. The main crops are grapes, olives, tomato, wheat, alfalfa, asparagus, green onions and broccoli.

One of the earliest activities in the Ensenada region was gold and silver mining, and some of these mines remain in limited operation. In recent years, very large amounts of gravel have been extracted from creek beds in rural areas and exported for infrastructure works in California in the US. However, this has been a controversial activity, as environmentalists have argued that depleting the creekbeds will decrease the amount of water that is absorbed by the soil during the brief rainy season, negatively impacting the agriculture. As of November 2005, the extraction of gravel remains unchecked. Said extraction activities have been linked to former governor Ernesto Ruffo.

The Port of Ensenada is an international deepwater port and the city's major water port. It maintains commercial, industrial, and tourist terminals.

In addition to the port, the coast around Bahia de Todos Santos is dotted with numerous marinas, including Marina Baja Fiesta, Marina Cruiseport Village, Marina Coral, and Marina Baja Naval with docking facilities for pleasure craft and commercial and sport fishing vessels.[26] In order to comply with United States cabotage laws, many cruise ships operating between Pacific ports in the U.S. call at Ensenada en route.

The city is served by Ensenada Airport, an official port of entry into Mexico.

Ensenada has three sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International,[27] including relations formalized between other cities.[28]

City	State	Country
Oceanside	California	United States
Parlier	California	United States
Redondo Beach	California	United States
Riverside	California	United States