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Puerto Peñasco is a small city in the northern state of Sonora, Mexico, on the shore of the Gulf of California. The town is known for its fishing and tourism industries.
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Puerto Peñasco, alternatively known among many of its English-speaking visitors as "Rocky Point", is a popular destination for tourists, particularly those that reside in the U.S. state of Arizona, for whom it is the nearest beach resort. It is also a popular Spring Break destination with students from Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Puerto Peñasco is located in the 'free zone' where tourists are not required to obtain immigration papers in order to visit.
Puerto Peñasco has a small airport that, although open to the general public, does not have the capability to allow airliners to land. Because of this people who have to fly to vacation in Puerto Peñasco must often fly either to nearby Hermosillo, Guaymas, or Mexicali.
As of 2005 there are a few charter airlines in Phoenix, Arizona, that offer flights to Puerto Peñasco. Their ability to do so is questionable due to post-9/11 security issues, many of which were cited as the reason for closure of similar charter airlines in late 2004.
Puerto Peñasco has a large beach line, and there is a statue of Benito Juárez in a plaza near the beaches.
There are at least two SCUBA diving operations in Puerto Peñasco although the waters near to shore tend to be quite shallow.
Puerto Peñasco's fishing zone lies in the Sea of Cortez, and there has been much concern about growth-related overfishing and the ocean's ability to sustain the town's fishing industry into the future. [1] (http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/projects/sea_of_cortez/)
Puerto Peñasco is also slated for upcoming marina and other boat-related developments as part of the country's 'Escalera Nautica' efforts, which call for a chain of 'tourist-class' marinas sprinkled up and down the Baja coast in an effort to promote nautical tourism.
External links
- Puerto Peñasco portal site (http://www.puerto-penasco.com)
- State of Sonora's official tourist site (http://sonoraturismo.gob.mx)
- 'La Esceleras english version (http://www.escaleranautica.com/indexenglish.html)