La Bufadora EarthCache
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Easy to get to. Does require a bit of exertion for the walking. Paved roads/trails all the way.
HOW TO GET THERE Located at 17 miles south of Ensenada by taking the Trans-peninsular highway to Maneadero. From there follow the clearly marked road that goes west and takes you all the way to La Bufadora, which is located at the end of the Punta Banda Peninsula. The scenic paved road offers you a beautiful panoramic view of the Ensenada Bay, its beaches and Todos Santos Island.
LEGEND:
Against this background of sound and fury, exploding water and flying spray, a legend has come down through the years: "The Legend of the Whale Jail". A century ago, within easy sight of The Blowhole, there was a whaling station below the bluff close to the water's edge. The whalers spun a yarn of a mother whale returning to the Arctic with her new-born calf from the breeding grounds at Scammon Lagoon in Guerrero Negro, four hundred miles south. One night the baby whale skipped away to explore a mysterious under water cave in the cliffs of Punta Banda. A whale calf grows very fast - fifty pounds a day, or more than two pounds an hour - and this "little" fellow stayed in the cave all night. By morning he was too big to squeeze through the narrow, crevice-like entrance of the cave. The following day the whalers in the camp saw a small spout rising mysteriously from the cave and heard the frightened sobs of the trapped baby whale. As years passed the spouts grew larger, his lamentations louder. And legend says that the spout, accompanied by a tumultuous crash emerging from the Blowhole today, is the spout and fulmination of a still-trapped but now full-grown leviathan.
ORIGIN A deep underwater canyon leads to the cave in the cliff, gouged out over eons of time by trillions of tons of pounding surf. The surge of heavy ocean swells is channeled through the canyon and forced beneath the surface into the narrow, tunnel-like entrance of the cave. DESCRIPTION This spectacular marine geyser explodes upwards sometimes as high as 80 ft. above sea level, producing a tremendous sound. This is the reason for its name, "The Blowhole". The invading ocean wave collides with the air that is drawn down in a pumping action caused by the force of receding waters after the previous spout. For an instant, trapped air and water choke the cave, then the compressed air and water explode through the only exit. This marine geyser is considered as the second highest of the world, after Hawaii. Other "Blow holes" exist in Australia, Tahiti and one in Japan, but Japan's is artificial. "La Bufadora" is the most spectacular of all of them, because it's situated on a rocky inlet near the tip of the ruggedly beautiful Punta Banda peninsula. Its tremendous roar seems to come from a huge angry animal at bay.
ACTIVITIES
Near La Bufadora is a little cove where professional diving is recommended. The little Sierra along the peninsula of Punta Banda invites you to practice hiking, camping, mountain bike riding and the observation of flora and fauna.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Climbing is not recommended due to the dangerous rocky area. Do take your camera though and wear comfortable clothing. In winter use warm clothing.
TO LOG THE CACHE:
I have always had a fascination for the sea and for the mathematics of the sea and wave action. This is a perfect way to test your mathematical skills and to learn from the ocean, waves, and tides.
1) Time the events. ( You can use a simple method such as record the start and end of ten or more events. Divide by the number of events then determine the time between events)
2) If you do that, you will notice that not all events/blows are equal sized. Some are bigger than others. With each event, record the height of each blow. I use the hand rail as a height indicator. Try to calculate the time between major blows and predict the next major blow. ( How accurate were your predictions? )
3) Is the size of the blow depending upon the tide level. Goto: (]visit link)
-or- (]visit link) and record the tide at the time that you were at La Bufadora.
4) Does the timing depend upon the deep water measures and harmonics? Goto (]visit link)
Click on 'Ensenada' and check the tide information and include that also.
5) Other observations: Look at the rock formations near and around La Bufadora. Can you see, and photograph the 'slot' that is responsible for the deep underwater canyon responsible for La Bufadora?
6) Those of us that go first to this challenge will not have the data posted by prior adventurers. Read all the data of others.
7) The ultimate challenge: What other observations can you make about La Bufadora that I have not included?
6) If you are a diver. Check out the underwater area near La Bufadora. How deep is the canyon? Are there any plants nearby? Record type and number.
7) I kayak. Next time I am in the area, I will use a depth gage or a 'sounding' line to record the depth and try to get an underwater topo map of the area immediately in front of La Bufadora. If you take any measures, include that information.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)