Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Cabo San Lucas, the southernmost tip of Baja California. (Photo
courtesy Chuck Nicklin)
San Lucas, at the tip of Baja California. I'd been there once briefly on
a side trip following the 1964 California Academy of Sciences Sea of
Cortez expedition and had made a couple of solo dives in the precip-
itous Cabo San Lucas submarine canyon. At ninety feet I saw the fa-
mous “Rivers of Sand” falls that have scoured out the canyon. Evidently,
they must pour over into the canyon only when triggered by earth-
quakes or storm waves because when I was there the motion was more
a trickle than a river. High up on each side of the falls were the dead,
scoured skeletons of sea fans, mute evidence of a massive sand avalanche
in the not too distant past.
One memorable experience of that side trip—in addition to diving
along the spectacular vertical walls of the canyon—was the oil pneu-
monia I contracted from breathing air pumped by an overheated scuba
air compressor. It was June and the air temperature was 105; the poor
little compressor simply wasn't getting the cooling necessary to con-
dense the oil vapors. I had an oily taste in my mouth for six months
afterward. I don't recommend it.
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