Botanical Garden of the Gran Desierto de Altar

The botanical garden is located on the path that connects our parking lot with the Visitor Center. As you walk you will be able to identify on mosaic plates the common and scientific names of some of the main plants that house the Gran Desierto de Altar, the driest sub-region of the Sonoran Desert.

We hope this exhibit continues to grow and integrate new plates that illustrate the transition between coastal and dune plant communities.

Fin Whale Skeleton

In 1984 the body of a dead fin whale was found in the La Pinta estuary, south of Puerto Peñasco. With the support of several volunteers, CEDO staff collected, cleaned, and assembled the bones for display.

Fin whales are the second largest species of whale, and although the maximum size an adult can measure is 30 meters long, it is only 20 meters long and is therefore presumed to be a young whale.

In a natural history talk, you can learn more about how they filter food with their beards and other clues about the life of whales, the largest animals on the planet.

Vaquita Marina Skeleton

In 1984 the body of a dead fin whale was found in the La Pinta estuary, south of Puerto Peñasco. With the support of several volunteers, CEDO staff collected, cleaned, and assembled the bones for display.

Fin whales are the second largest species of whale, and although the maximum size an adult can measure is 30 meters long, it is only 20 meters long and is therefore presumed to be a young whale.

In a natural history talk, you can learn more about how they filter food with their beards and other clues about the life of whales, the largest animals on the planet.

Visitors Center

The Visitor Center was built with used aluminum wheels and cans and sand, lots of sand, resulting in an efficient, low-impact structure. These types of constructions are known as Environmental Houses.

The CEDO Visitor Center is a complex of two environmental houses, one round with a dome (where our Gift Shop is located) and the other rectangular with a flat styrofoam roof (where the exhibition hall is located).

The construction of the first environmental house was led in 1992 by Jeanette Clifton who donated her energy and spirit to create an alternative construction model.

If you want to learn more about the construction of our environmental houses consult this link or search for books in our gift shop.

Gift Shop

In the CEDO gift shop you can buy a T-shirt with the image of our whale or a cap with the CEDO logo to protect yourself from the sun. Our store also offers natural history books in English and Spanish, posters, maps, ecological jewelry, tide cards and calendars, among many other things.

In support of local and regional communities in their efforts to live in harmony with nature, we offer handicrafts from Oaxaca, Chiapas and Chihuahua. From Chihuahua we have beautiful baskets from the Tarahumara and the famous ceramics from Mata Ortíz, a community that has found new life in ancient art, you will fall in love with them.

Exhibition Hall

In the exhibition hall you will find a mobile exhibition on the work of CEDO with the commercial divers of Puerto Peñasco, which illustrates some of the challenges that CEDO and fishermen face in their progress towards sustainable fishing.

In a video, divers who harvest scarlet callus and Chinese snail talk about their commitment to creating marine reserves. Divers won the SEMARNAT National Conservation Award in 2003, thus recognizing their innovative proposal to conserve their fishery. You can also find several showcases with bones of different species from the desert and the sea.

Desert Fish

The pupo fish or desert puppy is a species of freshwater fish endemic to the Sonoyta river basin and which is in danger of extinction.

Originally it could be found in the Colorado River basin in Mexico and the United States, in the Salton Sea (United States), and in the Gila and Sonoyta river basins in Sonora and Baja California (Mexico) and Arizona and California (United States) but currently it is only possible to find it in small areas of the Colorado and Hardy rivers, swamps of Santa Clara and the Doctor, and the Laguna Salada in Mexico and in the Salton Sea and its runoff in the United States. You will have to pay close attention because they are small and very elusive.

Henry Harris Library

The Henry Harris Memorial Library is located in the Agustín Cortés building and is open to the public.

We are not able to lend books but we invite our visitors to take a look at it or investigate a topic of their interest.

The library contains 1,350 books and 800 articles and clippings focused on ecology, geology, and local history. In addition, we have maps and videos. If you are a teacher or student of any school in Puerto Peñasco we can schedule a visit with our videos at no cost.

Agustín Cortés Building

Known as "the castle", the Greek-style building houses CEDO's main offices and its field station. It owes its name to Agustín Cortés, a pioneer who started many collaborations between mexican and american scientists.

At the field station we receive groups of students and researchers who study the region. To take a group to the field station check out our section Use of the Field Station.

CEDO has a laboratory and a library that are open to the public.