Activities

Dive in Santa Rosalia

Santa Rosalia

Sea of Cortez , Mexico

Where It Is: On the western edge of the Sea of Cortez, halfway down the Baja Peninsula, the town of Santa Rosalia is known as a base for divers in search of one of the ocean’s nastiest predators.

What to Look for:The Humboldt squid, which can grow to six feet in length, has tentacles lined with teeth and a beak that can shred fish in an instant. The predatory squids—whose pale, waxy arms, elongated heads, and rows of powerful suckers make them resemble space aliens—frequent the deep waters in large groups and come up to feed. Though they live in the Pacific Ocean from South America to California, sightings in this part of the Sea of Cortez are so common that Mexican fishermen have a special name for them: Diablos Rojos (“Red Devils”).