Bahía de Banderas

Bahía de Banderas (ba'i.a ðe βan'deɾas, Spanish for Bay of Flags) is a bay on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, within the Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit. It is also the name of an administrative municipality, located on the bay in Nayarit state. The port and resort city of Puerto Vallarta is on the bay. The Bahía de Banderas is regarded by most geologists as the original attachment point for the southern cape of the Baja California Peninsula before it was rifted off the North American Plate millions of years ago, forming the Gulf of California. The Bahía de Banderas (Banderas Bay) on the Pacific Ocean is bounded on the north by Punta Mita (Mita Point), and on the south by Cabo Corrientes (Cape Corrientes). Its coastline is approximately long. Though locally regarded so, it is not the largest bay in Mexico. Tourism is very important to the local economies, and the Bahía de Banderas coast is an important location of tourist facilities development in both states. Puerto Vallarta has been the longstanding primary resort destination and cruise ship port of the bay. However, beyond the city on the long coastline, other attractive beaches and landscapes have since been developed to serve visitors. Bahía de Banderas (Banderas Bay) is also an important breeding and birthing ground for the humpback whale. Unlike the rest of the municipalities of Nayarit, Bahía de Banderas follows the Central Time Zone, as used in the neighboring municipality of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. This is in order to allow for greater integration with the touristic region of Puerto Vallarta, as well as to prevent time zone confusions that could lead to missed flights on account of the local airport being across the state border in Puerto Vallarta. This time zone is represented in the Olson database as America/Bahia_Banderas. The Municipality of Bahía de Banderas in Nayarit state has a total area of 773.3 km2. It was created in 1989. Its westernmost headland is Punta Mita, to the south it is on the Bahía de Banderas, and northwards it is on the open Pacific Ocean.