Loreto to La Paz Geology

We might do it again someday!

If you’ve ever paddled the Sierra la Giganta coastline before, that breathtaking strip between Loreto and La Paz, you know why it would captivate an appreciator of geology. It’s explosive. Unstoppable. Patient. It’s tearing the earth apart. Where mountains meet the sea, rocks are bared and stories revealed.

We love this coast for the drama in its scenery. Also for its wildlife, the simplicity of the tiny fishing villages tucked into pockets that the geology offers, and the sense of journey. This is a one-time trip, with a geologist. We take our time and look. We ponder the forces that are still shaping this earth.

Stories of deep fire. Of folding and lifting and breaking down. The settling sands of time whisper of the currents or wind that were their artists. Fossil bones break the surface on Isla San Jose.

We have an ulterior motive for bringing a geologist on this trip, even beyond satisfying our own long-tantalized curiosity. We hope to write an approachable and interesting geological guide to this coast from a paddler’s perspective. Yes, we know the market is slim. Maybe it’s just us in the end, but that’s ok. It’s not just a study of rocks. Geology is the foundation of everything. It gives the structure of communities of plants, animals, and tiny fishing villages. It feels good to us to ponder this, especially in this place.

Dugald Carmichael from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario is one of the Geology department’s most popular professors. He is known to become so enthralled with rocks and his research in metamorphic petrology that he sometimes forgets other details of life. At Queens, they say that no departmental social evening would be complete without the voice, the foot and the guitar of “Stompin’ Tom Carmichael”. He will be joining us to paddle and investigate this stretch of coast. And, hopefully, to cut loose a little with us in the evenings!

Sierra la Giganta coastline