Gulf of California
1
3.0
- proper noun
:
Golfo de California
- The Gulf of California separates the Baja California Peninsula from mainland Mexico, creating a picturesque coastal landscape.
- northern Gulf of California
- Gulf of California, Mexico
Examples
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Tourists flock to the Gulf of California to enjoy its stunning beaches and abundant water activities.
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Scalloped hammerheads, although somewhat migratory, prefer to stay in tropical waters and are usually caught south of the Gulf of California during the winter months, when the gulf waters grow cool.
Academic text (1995) -
You know, I wonder if I could paddle all the way down that into the Gulf of California.
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The historic Colorado River, in contrast, flowed with far more fluctuation, carrying warm, muddy water toward the Gulf of California.
Academic text (2012) -
Free-flowing water would also help rejuvenate the depleted fishery in the Gulf of California by delivering lost nutrients.
Academic text (2000) -
About fifteen miles east of the Baja Peninsula, submerged in the Gulf of California, is a craggy underwater mountain known as Espiritu Santo.
Academic text (1995) -
Herald had seen an immense school of these enigmatic predators at an undersea pinnacle off a remote island called Los Animas, in the Gulf of California.
Academic text (1995) -
Marine biologists study the unique ecosystems that thrive in the Gulf of California, which is home to diverse marine life.
Synonyms
A gulf between Mexico and the Baja California peninsula with many sea animals
Surface Forms
Morphology
gulf + of + California
The meaning is directly compositional: 'gulf' (a stretch of sea) + 'of' (linking) + 'California' (place name) yields a gulf associated with California. This locative/genitive naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and involves no idiomatic shift, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Gulf of California comes from early Spanish explorers who borrowed the name California from an old story about a rich, imaginary island. Because the long piece of land now called Baja was named California, the sea between that land and mainland Mexico became the Gulf of California, which is why the name refers to that gulf today.