Jacques Cousteau Island

Jacques Cousteau Island

Native name: Isla Cerralvo
Jacques Cousteau Island, southernmost of the Midriff Islands. Located at the entrance to the Gulf of California.
Geography
Location	North America
Coordinates	24°13′17″N 109°52′14″W / 24.22139°N 109.87056°W / 24.22139; -109.87056Coordinates: 24°13′17″N 109°52′14″W / 24.22139°N 109.87056°W / 24.22139; -109.87056
Archipelago	Midriff Islands
Area	136 km2 (52.5 sq mi)
Country
Mexico
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Jacques Cousteau Island is the official name recently applied to an uninhabited island, (historically known as "Cerralvo Island" or "Isla Cerralvo" in Spanish), located off the coast of the Cerralvo Channel near the city of La Paz in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur.

It is eighteen miles long with a land area of 136.498 km² (52.702 sq mi), and is the ninth-largest island in Mexico. It is part of the Municipality of La Paz. The peak of the island comes to 2,100 ft (640 m) and the ridgline runs north-south with many small streams draining east to the Sea of Cortez and west to the Cupalo Channel. There are many steep bluffs on the eastern sides and many sandy beaches and points on the west side.

There is abundant marine life surrounding this island due to the underwater topography and ocean currents. Virtually all local marine life must migrate past the island and water visibility goes up to thirty meters making it a prime location for big game fishing. There are abundant Golden Grouper, Broadbill Swordfish, Marlin, Sailfish, and other game fish in the waters of Cerralvo Channel. The views from the island at dawn and sunset are very lively and filled with color.

Recent change of official name.

In November 2009, the Mexican government changed the name of this island from the historical name of "Isla Cerralvo" to "Jacques Cousteau Island"^[1] in honor of the French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau (1910–1997) who had led many expeditions in this area.

This change of name has generated annoyance and a growing resistance amongst the citizens of the nearby shores, in the state of Baja California Sur, who were not consulted; they insist on keeping the name "Isla Cerralvo". This resistance is also supported by many people in other Mexican regions.

Mexican Senators Luis Alberto Coppola Joffroy, Sebastian Calderón Centeno y Humberto Andrade Quezada, from PAN (Partido Accion Nacional) initiated a resolution to request different Mexican authorities to inform the decree where change of name was adopted.

Also senator Francisco Javier Obregón Espinoza has introduced a resolution in the Mexican Congress requesting the name change be reversed.^[2] Leading Mexican intellectuals such as Miguel León-Portilla (a former UNESCO director) have also voiced opposition to the name change.^[3]

References

• Land area of islands in Mexico INEGI

1. ^ "Le Mexique rebaptise une de ses îles "Jacques Cousteau"", Le Monde, November 17, 2009.
2. ^ "Punto de acuerdo por el que se exhorta al ejecutivo federal a revocar el cambio de nombre de la Isla Cerralvo...", Archivo del Congreso, November 26, 2009.
3. ^ "¿Borrar la historia? El caso de la isla Cerralvo", La Jornada, November 24, 2009.