Santa Rosaliamining town at the northern fringe of  Loreto

This mining town is at the northern fringe of the Loreto area.   There, the northbound highway turns westward, away from the Sea of Cortez, and there is also the western terminus of the ferry to Topolobampo, near Guaymas to the northeast, on the Sonoran coast.   It has a French metal church, reputedly designed by Gustav Eiffel himself, and and downtown reminiscent of New Orleans with its wooden (unusual in the extreme for Baja California!)  homes and shops demonstrating the strong French influence on the town’s foundation and growth.

The waterfront is still framed by the enormous works of the tin, gold and copper mining industry that flourished there   until the early decades of the 20^th century, only to founder in the confusion following the Revolution of 1910, and finally close some years later.  

 But now, in 2011, the mine, called El Boleo, is back under some dynamic Canadian leadership, and will reopen on nearby land and employ up to 5000 workers in near-surface mining, primarily for gold.

The land surrounding Santa Rosalia looks barren – in part naturally, since it is volcanic and since this is one of the places with least rainfall in all of the very dry Baja Peninsula, and in part because of the impact of tailings from earlier mining, and other reminders of the mining past.

It is a town with a history worth exploring on a day trip from Loreto, and a town with a future that may make you want to think about staying.    Explore.

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