LOCALIZATION: In the Gulf of California, at 14.5 km to the Loreto Municipality, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Because of its geographic location and biological fragility, it is part of two priority Natural Protected Areas: Gulf of California Islands Biosphere Reserve (Diario Oficial, 1978) and Loreto Bay National Park (Diario Oficial, 1996).

AREA: 15,100 hectares of mainly volcanic sierras up to 479 meters above sea level.

CLIMATE: Very dry with rains in summer and winter.

VEGETATION: There are eight different vegetation types: sarcocaulescent bushes, microphyle bush of mesquite (Prosopis articulata), microphyle subinerm bushes of creosote (Larrea tridentate), vegetation of washes and arroyos, halophytes, plants of coastal dunes, mangrove communities and cardon forests.

BIODIVERSITY OF CARMEN ISLAND, BCS

Group	No. of species	Endemics	Special protection	Threatened	Rares
Crustaceans	47
Plants	146	1	3		1
Amphibians	1
Reptiles	19	3	1	4	2
Birds	86		1	9
Mammals	32	2	7	2	1

ECOLOGICAL BENEFITS: It is an environment under formation, where it is possible to see speciation and understand geological and evolutionary processes. It is an important habitat for sea birds like the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), the frigate bird (Fregata magnificens) and the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii). It is also a nesting place of such resident sea birds as the yellow-footed gull (Larus livens), the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) and the American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus).

Regarding of endemisms, there is only one subspecies among plants (Ferocactus diguetii var. carmenensis), one species and two subspecies of reptiles (Sauromalus slevini, Crotalus enyo enyo and Leptotyphlopus humillis lindsay, respectively), and three subspecies of terrestrial mammals (Neotoma lepida nudicauda, Peromyscus eva carmeni and Lepus californicus sheldoni).