La Ventana

La Ventana is a small fishing village on the shore of La Ventana Bay south of La Paz on the eastern side of the Baja California peninsula in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. The village was founded in the early 1940s by the La Paz pearl diver Salome Leon. When pearl diving became unprofitable, Salome brought his family over the mountains from La Paz to La Ventana Bay to found the village. Many of his descendants continue to live, fish, and work in the village.[2]

This article is about the town in Baja California Sur, Mexico. For the Texas Tech University yearbook, see La Ventana (yearbook).
La Ventana
La Ventana is located in Baja California Sur
La Ventana
La Ventana
Coordinates: 24°03′01″N 109°59′20″W
Country Mexico
StateBaja California Sur
MunicipalityLa Paz
Elevation
7 ft (2 m)
Population
 (2010[1])
 • City255
 • Urban
0

History

The area was first inhabited by Neolithic hunter-gatherers at least 10,000 years ago who left traces of their existence in the form of rock paintings near the city and throughout the Baja California Peninsula. Hernán Cortés sailed into Bahía de La Paz on May 3, 1535. He attempted to start a colony but abandoned his efforts after several years due to logistical problems.[3] Sebastián Vizcaíno arrived in 1596 as part of a pearl-fishing expedition on the western shore of the Gulf of California. He sailed on to La Paz after attempts to pacify the area were rebuffed. The first permanent settlement in Baja California was not formed until 1695 further north in Loreto.[4]

Name origin

La Ventana (English "The Window") is named for the 'window' to the Gulf of California between nearby Isla Cerralvo and Punta Arena, which contrasted with the closed-in La Paz Bay from which the first inhabitants relocated.

References
  1. 2010 census tables: INEGI Archived 2013-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Baja California's Rugged Outback by Michael E. Long, from National Geographic Magazine, October 1972, pages 544 to 551
  3. Chapter 2, vol. 1, History of California, Theodore Henry Hittell, San Francisco: N. J. Stone & Company, 1897.
  4. Spradley, Tom (December 14, 2018). "A Brief History of the Founding of La Ventana (I)". The Ventana View. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
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