Islas Marías


The Islas Marías are an archipelago of four islands that belong to Mexico. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some off the coast of the state of Nayarit and about southeast of the tip of Baja California. They are part of the municipality of San Blas, Nayarit. The islands were used as a penal colony until February 18th of 2019 when President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered the closure of its operation as Islas Marías Federal Prison.
The first European to discover the islands was Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, a cousin of Hernán Cortés in 1532, who gave them the name Islas Magdalenas. He found no evidence of prior habitation by the Native Americans.
In 2010 the archipelago was designated the Islas Marías Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

Geography

The islands have an aggregate area of 244.97 km². 1,116 people lived on Isla María Madre as of the census of 2005 along with around 8,000 prisoners. The other islands are uninhabited. The main settlement is Puerto Balleto, with a population of 602.
Isla María Madre is the largest of the islands, with a surface area of 145.28 km². It houses the Islas Marías Federal Prison, which was established there in 1905. The next two largest islands are Isla María Magdalena and, further south, Isla María Cleofas. They were named after three women called Mary in the Biblical New Testament: respectively, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the wife of Cleopas, and are referred to as the Tres Marias. A smaller island, San Juanito, with an area of 9.1 km² lies off the north coast of Isla María Madre.
The islands are listed from north to south in the following table:
Island or RockArea
km²		Height
m		Location
San Juanito9.105.
Piedra El Morro0.060.
María Madre145.282616
Isla Don Boni0.025.
María Magdalena70.440457
María Cleofas19.818402
Piedra Blanca0.172.
Roca Blanca0.034.
unnamed rock0.034.
Islas Marías244.970616

Geology

Research supports the hypothesis that the Islas Marias are fragments of continental crust left over from the separation of the Baja California Peninsula from the mainland of Mexico. Rocks found on the islands correspond with rocks found around Cabo San Lucas, as well as Puerto Vallarta.

Populated places

All populated places of the Islas Marías are on Isla María Madre. They are listed from north to south in the following table:
Each populated center features a different economic activity. The primary population center is Puerto Balleto, the location of the administrative offices and the primary centers of commerce and recreation. It is subdivided into four jefaturas:
  1. Balleto,
  2. Bellavista,
  3. Unit Habitacional Miguel Hidalgo,
  4. Primero de Mayo,
In addition to prisoners, on Maria Madre island there are employees of diverse institutions of the federal government, such as the Secretariat of Public Education, the Secretariat of the Environment, the Secretariat of Communications and Transport, post office, and the Secretariat of the Navy. Another group of settlers is made up of religious ministers and acolytes of the Catholic Church, nuns of the Order of Social Service, and invited teachers, technicians and their relatives.
The colony is governed by a state official who is both the governor of the islands and chief judge. The military command is independent and is exercised by an officer of the Mexican Navy.

Weather

The mean temperature of island remain between 84 and 89 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. In April, May, and June sometimes temperatures cross the limit of thirty-five degrees Celsius. In December, January, and February the temperatures remain under twenty-five degrees. Sometimes the temperature may drop under twenty degrees Celsius. Most of the time weather remains dry but July, August, and September may receive rain up to 10mm. The average wind speed is between twelve and nineteen km/hour. The below chart shows the maximum and minimum temperature.
UnitCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsiusCelsius
MeanDaily Max292931323434323131313129
MeanDaily Min131415171922242424221815
MonthJanFabMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember

Hurricane Willa

passed through the Islas Marias on October 23, 2018. The National Hurricane Center reported at 9 AM MDT "Aircraft finds the core of Willa passing over Las Islas Marias Mexico". A subsequent report from the NHC stated that "Life-threatening storm surge is occurring along the coasts of the Isla Marias'. The NHC also reported that "An automated observing site on Las Islas Marias recently reported a sustained wind of 88 mph with a gust to 112mph ".

Lighthouse

There is a lighthouse located on a ridge above Puerto Balleto on Isla María Madre. The height of tower is two hundred feet or sixty-two meters. The lighthouse main gallery is painted white while the tower of the lighthouse is colored in red and white. The lighthouse is made of concrete and a large single story keeper house is also constructed with the lighthouse. The light house shines two white flashes every 10 seconds. The diameter of the light house is seven meters.

Prison of Isla Maria

The Islas Marías Federal Prison was constructed in 1905. One of its more notable prisoners was the Mexican progressive writer Jose Revueltas who wrote his first book Los Muros de Agua while incarcerated there.
Mexico's newly-elected president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced on February 18, 2019 that his administration will close the Islas Marías Federal Prison, replacing it with a new cultural center that will be named for Jose Revueltas.