Los Coronados Islands

Southwesterly from the Port of San Diego stand a group of small islands, sheer and bold. These Los Coronados Islands are a prominent feature of the local seascape, but as little known to most as a remote South Sea Island. Fishing boats cruise to the beds that surround it; others skim by on their way to Guadalupe Island, Cabo San Lucas or the tuna grounds off the shores of Ecuador and Peru.Seldom do norteamericano parties land on the island, which is a Mexican military post as well as a bird refuge. Tales are told of pirates who operated from here, of rumrunners, and a fabulous yacht club where the elite of San Diego cavorted during the days of prohibition.Helen Ellsberg tells of these legends, verifying some, ruthlessly scuttling others. But her book is not a collection of wild sea yarns; she accurately describes and discusses the birds; mammals sea and land; geology and history of these mysterious islands. Noted scientists of the Museum of Natural History of San Diego, as well as fishermen, newspapermen and even the lighthouse keeper of the South Island have supplied her with unpublished information, which makes here slim book the definitive work on Los Coronados Islands.If you wish to land on these islands, she explains the problems involved; if you want to fish or skin-dive in its many minute coves; or if you are just satisfied to sit and read and gaze across the waters at these little known islands that guard San Diego's busy harbor - then here is the book for all of you.