Qualla: Isla Espiritu Santo https://qualla.com/isla-espiritu-santo en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:11 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/3/e/isla-espiritu-santo-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Isla Espiritu Santo https://qualla.com/isla-espiritu-santo Isla Espiritu Santo: Introduction https://qualla.com/isla-espiritu-santo/ Photo credit AlexisSalinas01, CC BY-SA 4.0. Nine thousand years ago, someone sat in a rock shelter on this island and carved a fishhook from a pearl oyster shell. The hook, discovered at Covacha Babisuri on Isla Espiritu Santo, is among the oldest shell fishhooks ever found anywhere in the world -- similar in design to specimens unearthed in Australia and along the Arabian Sea. The island itself, a volcanic remnant rising from the turquoise waters of the Sea of Cortez just 26 kilometers from the port city of La Paz, has been uninhabited for centuries. But it has never been empty of purpose. From ancient fishing camps to a modern fight against casino developers, Espiritu Santo -- "Holy Spirit" -- has drawn people to its shores for millennia.

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Image: AlexisSalinas01 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/3/e/isla-espiritu-santo-wp/9s3e-isla-espiritu-santo-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Isla Espiritu Santo: Born of Fire and Fracture https://qualla.com/isla-espiritu-santo/ Photo credit Jmrodri2, CC BY-SA 3.0. Isla Espiritu Santo exists because the earth broke apart. The island and its sister, Isla Partida, are rock formations created by violent earthquakes and volcanic activity along the tectonically restless Gulf of California. Volcanic ash and lava compose the bulk of their geology,...

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Image: Jmrodri2 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/3/e/isla-espiritu-santo-wp/9s3e-isla-espiritu-santo-born-of-fire-and-fracture.mp3 0:06 2 full Isla Espiritu Santo: Life Found Nowhere Else https://qualla.com/isla-espiritu-santo/ Photo credit AlexisSalinas01, CC BY-SA 4.0. Isolation breeds uniqueness, and Espiritu Santo harbors species that exist nowhere else on earth. The black jackrabbit, Lepus insularis, and the Espiritu Santo antelope squirrel, Ammospermophilus insularis, are both endemic to this island alone. Beneath the waterline, the surroun...

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Image: AlexisSalinas01 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/3/e/isla-espiritu-santo-wp/9s3e-isla-espiritu-santo-life-found-nowhere-else.mp3 0:06 3 full Isla Espiritu Santo: Saving the Island from the Casino https://qualla.com/isla-espiritu-santo/ Photo credit AlexisSalinas01, CC BY-SA 4.0. By the 1990s, Espiritu Santo's beauty had attracted attention of a less welcome kind. A real estate developer proposed building a resort casino on the island. Tim Means, founder of Baja Expeditions and a leading conservationist based in La Paz since 1974, organized a coalition of...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/3/e/isla-espiritu-santo-wp/9s3e-isla-espiritu-santo-saving-the-island-from-the-casino.mp3 0:06 4 full Isla Espiritu Santo: Layers of Protection https://qualla.com/isla-espiritu-santo/ Photo credit CC BY 4.0. Today, Espiritu Santo carries more protective designations than almost any comparable piece of land in Mexico. In 1994, the island and the other Gulf of California islands were declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Mexican government designated them a Flora and Fauna Protectio...

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]]> Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/s/3/e/isla-espiritu-santo-wp/9s3e-isla-espiritu-santo-layers-of-protection.mp3 0:06 5 full