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  • Historical Water Pulses in the Central Desert Region: Following the Paths of the Missionaries’ First Explorations of Northern Baja California
  • Elisabet V. Wehncke (bio) and Xavier López-Medellín (bio)

Starting in 1535, before the arrival of the first Jesuit missionaries, several European expeditions visited the peninsula of Baja California in search of wealth. But one of the most important eras in the history of Baja California was its mission period (1697 to 1849), during which the fate of the native population was determined. Throughout the 18th century, diverse aspects of the ethnography and biogeography of northern Baja California were first described. By reviewing the environmental data recorded in the missionaries’ diaries, we followed the paths of the Jesuits (1697–1768) in their endeavor to expand the mission system to the northern desert region. In general, these accounts already evidenced the marked aridity of this territory and the difficulties they faced to establish permanent settlements. After seven years (2006–2012) of ecological research and exploration of the northern desert oases on the peninsula, we had the opportunity to compare our observations and confirm that the present environmental scenario has not changed much from that time. The unpredictability of water is an environmental factor that has determined human life and the evolution of desert ecosystems throughout history. Because precipitation in the peninsula of Baja California usually comes in discontinuous packages in space and time that vary in intensity, frequency, and duration, we will refer to this input that drives the system as “pulsed water events,” which are of very short duration relative to the periods of zero input between them (Noy-Meir 1973). Historical episodic water availability in northern oases defined the social, ecological, and [End Page 145] evolutionary dynamics that have shaped—and still do—the way of life, the colonization history, and the current land use in the central desert region of the peninsula.

The Value of the First Explorations to the North

During the 70 years that the Jesuits lived in ancient California, they explored approximately 80% of its territory. They faced many difficulties, from extreme weather and scarcity of water to conflicts with the native population, which sometimes paralyzed the development and expansion of the mission system (Crosby 1994; Lazcano-Sahagún 2000).

It was after this period that Fernando Consag, serving as visitador of the Californias, conducted the first expeditions to the unexplored central desert region of the peninsula (León-Portilla 1988). By 1728, the mission of San Ignacio Kadakaamán represented the northernmost Jesuit outpost and served as the starting point for subsequent explorations to find suitable sites and expand their missions. In 1746, Consag began his journeys by sailing from the northern Californian shores to the mouth of the Colorado River, thus confirming that Baja California was indeed a peninsula (Crosby 1994). He produced the first maps of this area and described a great deal of the northern desert, including the mountain range known today as Sierra de La Libertad. Then, in 1762, another friar, Wenceslao Linck, continued the work of Consag by expanding the evangelized territory toward the north (Lazcano-Sahagún 2000). With the objective of also reaching the Colorado River, he explored the more mesic mountain landscapes and traversed the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir. Both of these men are among the most complete explorers of the ancient Californias, acting not only as religious men, but also as cartographers and naturalists who left invaluable contributions to the natural history of this isolated northern desert region (Burrus 1966; León-Portilla 1988; Lazcano-Sahagún 2000). The information registered in their diaries, the accounts they narrated, and the routes they explored were used, at least in part, by subsequent explorers: In 1766 Linck followed part of the route Consag took in 1751 up to Keda or La Hermosura (approx. 29°08′ N, 114°12′ W), and Juan Crespí followed part of Linck’s 1766 route up to La Cieneguilla or La Rinconada three years later (approx. 30°34′ N, 115°24′ W). Today, the invaluable legacy of such historical endeavors registered in diaries and maps is being used by researchers in the botanical and...

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