Revillagigedo

Revillagigedo National Park protects an archipelago of four volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, some 458 kilometres south-west of Los Cabos and 698 west of Manzanillo. Its remote isolation has produced a singular ecosystem, with numerous endemic plant and animal species, which has earned it the nickname of Mexico's little Galápagos. The islands were initially attached to the state of Colima and in 1861 were set aside as a penal colony; today they are under federal jurisdiction.

Protection came in stages. In 1994 the Mexican government declared them a biosphere reserve, in 2004 they were listed as a Ramsar site, and in July 2016 UNESCO added the Revillagigedo Archipelago to the World Heritage List for its unique biological attributes and its excellent state of conservation. That recognition was the direct forerunner of the decree signed in November 2017 that created the national park, extending the protected zone to some 14.8 million hectares and making it the largest no-take marine protected area in North America.

Its waters hold 366 fish species, 26 of them found only in the archipelago, and function as a gathering, feeding, breeding and nursery point for large migratory species: sharks of several species, giant manta rays, whales and marine turtles. That concentration of pelagic wildlife has made it one of the most highly rated dive destinations in the world, and its conservation has a knock-on effect across the whole eastern Pacific, of whose network of protected areas it is a key link.