Ensenada

From Freepedia

Image:Ensenada23Mai2004h12m30pm.jpg Ensenada is a city in the state of Baja California, Mexico. It is located 116 km (about 70 miles) south of Tijuana, at 31°47′ N 116°36′ W. The city has an estimated population of 314,281. Ensenada is also the municipal seat of Ensenada Municipality, one of the five into which the state is divided. It is the largest municipality in the state.

Located in the Bahía de Todos Santos – an inlet of the Pacific Ocean – Ensenada is a port and a cruise ship stop. There is also a navy base and military airfield.

The city is backed up by small mountain ranges. Due to its location on the Pacific Ocean, the weather tends to be mild. Although the terrain is relatively dry, Ensenada sits in the heart of a wine country that counts as the best in Mexico. It is said that the first vitis vinifera made it to the peninsula (specifically to the San Ignacio Mission) in 1703, when Jesuit Padre Juan Ugarte planted the first grapes there.

1 Tourism
2 Education
3 External links

Tourism

A few minutes south of the town there is one of the three marine geysers in the world, this one known as La Bufadora ("The Blowhole").

The world-wide famous Baja 1000 off-road race starts in this town every year in the month of November.

The annual migration of the grey whale on its travel to Alaska can be seen from the coast of Ensenada every year from February to March.

There is a community of Russian molokans whose ancestors immigrated to the nearby town of Guadalupe, Baja California in the municipality of Ensenada. There exists a Russian Museum in the town. The traditional occupation of the members of these communities is wine production. Currently, about 90% of wine production in Mexico originates from the valley of Guadalupe.

The San Pedro Mártir National Park is located in the municipality of Ensenada, about 240 km SW of the town of Ensenada. The observatory of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) is located atop the highest peak of the park.