9781422286906

The Land

The remains of ancient cultures can be found throughout Mexico, from temples and abandoned cities to these ancient paintings found in a cave in Baja California Sur.

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la Giganta continues this spine of ranges into the south, with the Sierra de Laguna finishing at the southern tip of Baja California Sur. This long chain of mountains adds to the wildness and isolation of the Baja Peninsula. Not only is the entire peninsula isolated from the rest of Mexico by the Gulf of California, but the interior parts of the Baja are separated from each other by the rugged mountain ranges. These mountains are places of wonder and mystery. Rock paintings dating from the earliest people to live in this area have been found in the caves. In the Sierra de San Francisco, near the town of San Ignacio, cave paintings cover a large part of canyon walls. These are dated from 100 B . C . to A . D . 1300. These paintings can only be accessed by horseback (or muleback); there are no roads leading into this wilderness. The Sierra de Juárez to the north also has cave paintings. These rough mountain ranges rise from the desert. In fact, much of the Baja Peninsula is desert. The climate is hot, burning and dry. During some years, it does not rain at all in parts of the Baja Peninsula. The desert is not a friendly place