Explore the vast range of titles available.

Through the lives and works of three women in colonial California, Bárbara O. Reyes examines frontier mission social spaces and their relationship to the creation of gendered colonial relations in the Californias. She explores the function of missions and missionaries in establishing hierarchies of power and in defining gendered spaces and roles, and looks at the ways that women challenged, and attempted to modify, the construction of those hierarchies, roles, and spaces. Reyes studies the criminal inquiry and depositions of Barbara Gandiaga, an Indian woman charged with conspiracy to murder two priests at her mission; the divorce petition of Eulalia Callis, the first lady of colonial California who petitioned for divorce from her adulterous governor-husband; and the testimonio of Eulalia Pérez, the head housekeeper at Mission San Gabriel who acquired a position of significant authority and responsibility but whose work has not been properly recognized. These three women’s voices seem to reach across time and place, calling for additional, more complex analysis and questions: Could women have agency in the colonial Californias? Did the social structures or colonial processes in place in the frontier setting of New Spain confine or limit them in particular gendered ways? And, were gender dynamics in colonial California explicitly rigid as a result of the imperatives of the goals of colonization?

Ghost Galleon tells the story of archaeologists’ twenty-year search on a desolate beach in Baja California for the enigmatic remains of a Spanish galleon that disappeared without a trace more than four centuries ago. Carrying a cargo of Asian riches to the New World, Manila galleons forged the final link in the unification of the world through commerce by their annual voyages across the Pacific Ocean. Here, author Edward Von der Porten relates how a chance viewing of Chinese porcelain sherds in a museum catalog led him, his wife Saryl, and a team of researchers to the beachcombers who discovered the sherds. To Von der Porten, these sherds represented the possibility of something much more significant: one of the earliest known Manila galleon shipwrecks on the West Coast. In collaboration with the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH), Von der Porten and his colleagues undertook the first of many archaeological expeditions to investigate the site in 1999. Over twenty years, a team of American and Mexican archaeologists recovered thousands of artifacts and concluded that they had located the remains of the cargo from a Spanish galleon—most likely the San Juanillo of 1578. This copiously illustrated, highly accessible work offers an inside view of how archaeologists carefully assemble the evidence that allows scientific reconstruction of past events. Despite the grudging resistance of time, Von der Porten and his colleagues have resurrected the tale of the ill-fated San Juanillo to enrich our understanding and appreciation of the past.

Located off the west coast of the Mexican state of Baja California, Isla Cedros—Island of Fogs—is site to some of the most extensive and remarkable archeological discoveries on the continent. Two sites dated to before 12,000 cal BP have been excavated, as well as portions of two large village sites dated to the last one thousand years. Among the artifacts discovered are the earliest fishhooks found on the continent. Drawing on ten years of his own historical, ethnographic, and archaeological research, Matthew Des Lauriers uses Isla Cedros to form hypotheses regarding the ecological, economic, and social nature of island societies. Des Lauriers uses a comparative framework in order to examine both the development and evolution of social structures among Pacific coast maritime hunter-gatherers as well as to track patterns of change. Because it examines the issue of whether human populations can intensively harvest natural resources without causing ecological collapse, Island of Fogs provides a relevant historical counterpart to modern discussions of ecological change and alternative models for sustainable development.  

The Pacific is not only the world’s largest body of water; its vast expanse also includes an extraordinary number and diversity of oceanic islands, from Palau and the Marianas east of the Philippines to Cocos Island and the Galápagos west of the Americas. The isolation of these islands and the extreme distances between them long prevented scientists from studying their floras and faunas in a comparative context. But now George R. Zug, one of the world's foremost experts on the diverse reptiles and amphibians of the Pacific Basin, offers the first such systematic overview in more than half a century. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands is a compendium of frogs, lizards, snakes, and turtles living on these lands and in the adjacent waters of the oceanic islands in the tropical Pacific. The means to identify each species is included, along with entries that describe each animal's form, coloration, habitat, distribution, reproductive biology, and natural history. Color plates of more than 75 percent of the species also help to facilitate visual identification. This accessible and informative guide is the most comprehensive field guide available and will appeal to both novice sightseers and professional naturalists.

Bathed in desert light and shadow, rising up from the earth in improbable, faraway places, stand eight original Spanish missions on Mexico's Baja California peninsula. Built of stone by Roman Catholic priests and indigenous laborers in the eighteenth century, these stunning missions dominate the landscape around them.Baja California Missions: In the Footsteps of the Padresis a beautiful and informative book about the eight monumental Spanish colonial churches, buildings seldom seen by those familiar with the missions of California, Arizona, and Sonora, Mexico.With gorgeous photographs of the architecture and religious art, and supported by a concise history that outlines the peninsula's exploration and colonization by Roman Catholic priests,Baja California Missionsexcels as a book of photography and history. It promises adventure for readers at home, as well as for travelers ready to explore the churches in person.The eight Spanish colonial stone churches of Baja California endure as the only intact originals of 34 missions built by the padres during the peninsula's colonization. Due to structural renovations and restorations of the artwork undertaken over the last 30 years, the renowned mission churches have become sources of pride to the citizens of Baja California. Travelers are invited to visit at any time, especially during patron saint day celebrations.As a guide,Baja California Missionsis fully up to date, with directions for navigating Baja's paved highways and desert and mountain roads. The mission sites are pinpointed on a topographic roadmap of the peninsula. A church floor plan is provided to accompany a walk-through tour for each church interior. The lovely eighteenth-century oil paintings and wooden statues that grace the church altars are also identified and described.

Mexico needs to exploit its renewable resources and many studies have determined the great renewable potential it has using wind energy. However it is necessary to calculate the amount of this resource for small urban communities, which in this country lack essential services such as electricity. This study is focused in the Baja California Peninsula, using GIS as a tool to identify small urban zones with higher wind power. For this work data was analyzed from meteorological stations and recorded every 10 min for two years (2012–2014). Weibull distribution, linear regression, kriging interpolation, power and energy output and useful hours were calculated for each station. It was found that the total energy generated is 38,603,666 kWh per year and the mean of useful hours is 5220 h per year for the whole Peninsula. Maps of Wind Power Density (WPD) show a good power per square meter, GIS shows the areas with the most wind power where it can be used i.e., the state of Baja California wind power can generate electricity for 12% of those communities, meanwhile for Baja California Sur, the electric power generation could electrify almost 25% of the total of small urban communities.

Through the lives and works of three women in colonial California, Bárbara O. Reyes examines frontier mission social spaces and their relationship to the creation of gendered colonial relations in the Californias. She explores the function of missions and missionaries in establishing hierarchies of power and in defining gendered spaces and roles, and looks at the ways that women challenged, and attempted to modify, the construction of those hierarchies, roles, and spaces. Reyes studies the criminal inquiry and depositions of Barbara Gandiaga, an Indian woman charged with conspiracy to murder two priests at her mission; the divorce petition of Eulalia Callis, the first lady of colonial California who petitioned for divorce from her adulterous governor-husband; and thetestimonioof Eulalia Pérez, the head housekeeper at Mission San Gabriel who acquired a position of significant authority and responsibility but whose work has not been properly recognized. These three women's voices seem to reach across time and place, calling for additional, more complex analysis and questions: Could women have agency in the colonial Californias? Did the social structures or colonial processes in place in the frontier setting of New Spain confine or limit them in particular gendered ways? And, were gender dynamics in colonial California explicitly rigid as a result of the imperatives of the goals of colonization?

Intro -- Island of Fogs -- Contents -- Figures -- Maps -- Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. A Place in Space and Time -- Chapter 2. Islanders, Fishermen, Pirates, and Corporations -- Chapter 3. The First Isleños -- Chapter 4. Becoming Cedros -- Chapter 5. The World of the Huamalgüeños -- Chapter 6. Insularity and Interaction -- Chapter 7. \"And So We Went...\" -- References Cited -- Index.

Shared phylogenetic breaks often are associated with clear geographic barriers but some common phylogeographic breaks may lack obvious underlying mechanisms. A phylogenetic break involving multiple taxa was found in the Baja California Peninsula that was associated with a past sea barrier. However, geological evidence is lacking for this barrier's past existence, and despite its current absence, the genetic breaks have persisted. This work explores the relationships between the current climatic niches for matrilineages of 11 vertebrate species as a possible explanation for the current geographic partitioning of matrilineages. We evaluated the climatic occupancy of each matrilineage through ecological niche models, background similarity, niche overlap, niche divergence, and Mantel tests. We found disparities in the climatic occupancy between north and south matrilineage of each taxon. Northern matrilineages are associated with lower temperatures and winter rains, while southern matrilineages reside in areas with higher temperatures and summer rains.

Climatic changes can affect species distributions, population abundance, and evolution. Such organismal responses could be determined by the amount and quality of available habitats, which can vary independently. In this study, we assessed changes in habitat quantity and quality independently to generate explicit predictions of the species' responses to climatic changes between Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and present day. We built ecological niche models for genetic groups within 21 reptile, mammal, and plant taxa from the Baja California peninsula inhabiting lowland or highland environments. Significant niche divergence was detected for all clades within species, along with significant differences in the niche breadth and area of distribution between northern and southern clades. We quantified habitat quantity from the distribution models, and most clades showed a reduction in distribution area towards LGM. Further, niche marginality (used as a measure of habitat quality) was higher during LGM for most clades, except for northern highland species. Our results suggest that changes in habitat quantity and quality can affect organismal responses independently. This allows the prediction of genomic signatures associated with changes in effective population size and selection pressure that could be explicitly tested from our models.