Home • Baja • Useful Links

We've compiled a few website and books that we think are good resources to start learning about Baja California, and its wildlife.

Baja California

• A good starting point for learning about the region
• Information about history, economics, archaeology, and the environment

Coastal, Marine, and Desert Ecology

• Ocean Oasis - a great site with information about geography, animals, ecosystems, and much more
• Information about the Sonoran desert and the different biomes present

Maps and Landforms

• Overview map of the peninsula
• Zoom-in maps of Baja California del Sur
• Geological zones in the entire peninsula

Books

We suggest the following books to help prepare for a trip to Baja. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are books in the EPI campus or field library:

Field Guides
• *Carwardine, Mark. Manual de Identificación Ballenas, delfines, y marsopas. Barcelona, Spain: Omega, 1995.
• Dunn, Jon, and Jonathan Alderfer. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition. National Geographic, 2006. 
• Goodson, Gar. Fishes of the Pacific Coast: Alaska to Peru, Including the Gulf of California and the Galapagos Islands. 1988.
• Gotshall, Daniel. Guide to Marine Invertebrates: Alaska to Baja California. Monterrey California: Sea Challengers Inc., 2005. 
• *Gotshall. Daniell W. Sea of Cortez Marine Animals: A Guide to the Common Fishes and Invertebrates Baja California to Panama. Monterrey California: Sea Challengers Inc., 1998. 
• *Guerrero Ruiz, Mercedes and Jorge Urban. Las Ballenas del Golfo de California. Mexico, DF: INE-SEMARNAT, 2006
• Humann, Paul, and Ned DeLoach. Reef Fish Identification Baja to Panama. New World Publications, 2004. 
• *McPeak, Ronald H. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California. Monterrey California: Sea Challengers Inc., 2000. 
• *Roberts, Norman. Baja California Plant Field Guide. Natural History Publishing Co., 1989. 
• Stewart, Brent S, Phillip J. Clapham, James A. Powell, and Randall R. Reeves. National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World. Knopf, 2002. 

Natural History and Travel Narrative
• Berger, Bruce. Almost and Island: Travels in Baja California. University of Arizona Press, 1998. 
• Dedina, Serge. Saving the Gray Whale: People, Politics, and Conservation in Baja California (Society, Environment, and Place). University of Arizona Press, 2000. 
• Krutch, Joseph Wood. The Forgotten Peninsula, A Naturalist in Baja California. University of Arizona Press, 1986. 
• Mayo, C.M. Miraculous Air: A Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico. Milkweed Editions, 2007. 
• Romano-Lax, Andomeda. Searching for Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez: A Makeshift Expedition Along Baja’s Desert Coast. Sasquatch Books, 2002. 
• Steinbeck, John. The Log of the Sea of Cortez. Penguin Classics, 1995. 
• Zwinger, Ann and Herman H. Zwinger. A Desert Country Near the Sea: A Natural History of the Cape Region of Baja California. University of Arizona Press, 1987. 

Fiction
• Benchley, Peter. The Girl of the Sea of Cortez. Andre Deutsch, 1982. 
• Kira, Gene. King of the Moon: A Novel of Baja California. Apples and Oranges Inc., 1996. 
• *Steinbeck, John. The Pearl. Penguin, 2000. 

Whales
• Nickerson, Roy. Friendly Whales of Baja. Chronicle Books, 1987. 
• Russell, Dick. Eye of the Whale, Epic Passage from Baja to Siberia. Island Press, 2004. 
• Peterson, Brenda, and Linda Hogan. Sightings: The Gray Whales’ Mysterious Journey. Adventure Press, 2002. 

History
• *Rio, Ignacio. Breve historia de Baja California Sur. Mexico, DF: El colegio de Mexico, 2000.

Science and Research
• *Urban Ramírez, Jorge. Bahía De La Paz Investigación y Conservación. Mexico: UABCS, 1997.