The Gulf of California on Mexico’s west coast is approximately 1,250 kilometers long, with a climate ranging from temperate to tropical and flanked on both sides by deserts. It has great biological diversity, extreme tides and water characteristics, and is geologically active. The Atlas has a page for each scientific cruise, that could be found, in the Gulf since 1825 to nearly the present. Each page describes the cruise and displays a schematic cruise pattern. The Introduction is in English and Spanish. After the Introduction is a list of key words that have been used to describe the data collected and instruments used, but any word or words can be used to search the Atlas.

The Gulf of California Bibliography was developed for those interested in marine sciences, with references covering a geographic area from Cabo Corrientes to Cabo San Lucas, northward to the head of the Gulf, at the mouth of the Colorado River. The East Pacific Rise at 21 deg N has been included, since it is important to Gulf researchers. Most references to the terrestrial flora and fauna of the Gulf Islands have been excluded. References were obtained through June 1991 in compiling this Bibliography.