ABOUT ROCKY POINT

For years the community known as Puerto Peñasco to the Mexicans has been called Rocky Point by the Americans. Rocky Point in Spanish would be Punta (not Puerto) Peñasco. Why the discrepancy? Actually the name goes back much farther than we might suppose, considering the town was first settled only in the 1920's. It was 1826 that retired Lt. Robert William Hale Hardy of the British Royal Fleet was sailing along the coasts of Sonora and Baja California searching for pearls and precious metals in the sailing ship La Bruja (the witch). He baptized the point Rocky Point Mexico and it was identified as Rocky Point on marine maps until General Lázaro Cárdenas (who was to become president of Mexico in the 1930's) changed it to Puerto Punta Peñasco (Port Rocky Point). Americans dropped the Port, and Mexicans the Punta.

During the early 1920's Americans traveled from Tucson , Phoenix , Gila Bend and Ajo to fish for the enormous flying fish abundant in the nearby waters. For the wandering fisherman who traveled from Guaymas to the gulf of Santa Clara del Colorado , Rocky Point provided the ideal place for refuge from storms, thanks to the hill of volcanic origin, which the fishermen knew as "the hill of the whale", and the beautiful and tranquil estuary. However the sight did not offer the essential element they needed: water. During Prohibition there sprang up along the border bars, clubs, hotels, and casinos, which offered thirsty Americans beer and liquor and, in some cases, women and gambling as well. Then John Stone, who owned the Hotel Cornelia in Ajo, decided to build a hotel-casino farther south, near the sea, to combine the moneymaking potential of fishing with that of alcohol. He dug a well for potable water 20 kilometers from the coast and recruited a number of fishermen who were willing to risk living in harsh conditions. So was born the town of Puerto Peñasco.

 

John Stone installed roulette, cards and dice tables. He also sold water, which he imported from his well. More surprising, perhaps, he established an airline, Scenic Airlines, with direct flights to Phoenix and Tucson . The site was nearer what is now downtown Puerto Peñasco than the present airport. It is no longer in use and homes have been built on the land.

The fishermen who settled in Rocky Point in the 1920's were left in dire straits when John Stone, a local hotel keeper, had a falling out with them and left town, burnong the Stone Hotel and blowing up the only well with drinking water for miles around. After that the townspeople had to depend on water carried by truck from Sonoyta, which was expensive and in short supply.

One day in 1936, when the Rocky Point fishermen were sinking under the midday heat, when even the flies didn't have strength to move, there arrived in the village three automobiles. From one of the vehicles stepped out General Lázaro Cárdenas, president of the Republic.

The General saw a sad spectacle, men and women who appeared to be alive only through a miracle, living in caves, in tents, out in the open, unkempt and virtually without clothing. Tears came to his eyes. What they had said in the country was true.

 

The committee went out to a hill, and from there, the president began to plan an enormous wharf where cargo vessels would tie up, a railroad that would unify Baja California with the rest of the country, and a highway to the United States .

On March 20, 1937 the first spike was driven in the Sonora-Baja railroad by Don Ulises Irigoyen on behalf of President Lázaro Cárdenas.

Simultaneously in Puerto Peñasco the wharf began operations, the well and the old Stone Hotel were rehabilitated and the urban development of the port was begun.

The importance of Puerto Peñasco owed much to the railroad, which created other sources of work, such as industrial shops and new hotels - among them the Hotel Mexico, the Hotel Miramar and luxurious Hotel Cortez. The last named was constructed of material from the US , supposedly as a result of a meeting between Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Lázaro Cárdenas of Mexico .

Rocky Point Beaches

This is probably the major reason why people come here. Beaches go for Miles and miles of sand, crystal blue water with an approximate temperature of 93°F in the summer and 55°F in the winter. The beaches in Rocky Point provide many activities such as , windsurfing, skiing, jetskiing, boat rides or beachcombing. Rocky Point also has sand dunes for dirt biking,4 wheeling and dune buggies. During Easter and summer, the beach is ideal for camping, because the hotels get full.

El Pinacate

Biosphere Reserve, a volcano system of the cinder cone family, known as the Santa Clara forms much of the landscape, including three peaks: the Pinacate, Carnegie, and Medio. El Pinacate national Park is located at approximately 45 kilometers Northeast from Puerto Peñasco in the cost of Sonora . It is one of the most strikingly visible landforms in North America when viewed from space. El Pinacate offers tours of the volcanic hills, huge craters and lava fields, which are very similar to the lunar surface  

 

San Jorge Island

Are a group of rocky islands located outside the Bay of San Jorge , near Puerto Peñasco. Like other islands in the gulf, these are federal protected zones These islands where decreed protected areas in 1978 due to their biological importance. The San Jorge Islands shelter migratory birds and wild fauna. These islands are a major tourist attraction. Enjoy herds of sea lions, one of the biggest colonies of sea Lions in the Gulf of California .

  Tourism

After fishing, tourism is the most important activity of this town. The current tourist development has consolidated an infrastructure of more than 70 restaurants, 42 hotels and motels with 2,012 rooms available as well as 14 RV areas with 1,435 lots.

Expectations on this new economy sector are growing strong within the local socioeconomic structure. Tourist influx grows at a 1,000 daily visitor basis. Around the 85% of the foreign visitors come from the state of Arizona and their stay average is 3.1 days per capita, generating a hotel occupancy rate of a 50%.

The constant growth of the tourist developments has considerable marked the economic activity of this town. To date, the northwestern coast of Mexico has evolved and boosted job creation.

The range of activities in Peñasco is countless: waling along the beautiful beaches, swimming in steady waters or simply resting your body watching the sunset. The following are just some of the attractions of this dreamy  destination: 

   CER-MAR Aquarium.

This is a marine study center open to the public in which several marine species can be observed including turtles, octopuses, sea horses, a great number of fish and creatures living under the sea.

   CEDO

Is a study center located at the Las Conchas community and it is open to the public. It has a souvenir and gift shop, as well as all shorts of marine studies activities