Islas Marías

The Islas Marías ("Mary Islands") make up an archipelago in Mexico, consisting of four principal islands and five smaller islands/large offshore rocks. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some 100 km (62 mi) off the coast of the state of Nayarit and about 370 km (230 mi) southeast of the tip of Baja California. They are part of the municipality (municipio) of San Blas, Nayarit. The islands were used as a penal colony until February 18, 2019, when President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered the closure of its operation as Islas Marías Federal Prison. The first European to encounter 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.

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