The vaquita lives only in one place on Earth: the northern Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) in Mexico , near where the Colorado River meets the sea.

Quick Scoop: Where does the vaquita live?

  • The vaquita’s entire range is in the upper (northwestern) Gulf of California , a narrow sea between Baja California and mainland Mexico.
  • It stays close to shore , usually within about 16–25 km of the coastline.
  • It prefers shallow, murky waters , typically less than 50 m deep (often around 10–50 m), with strong tidal mixing and lots of food.
  • Today its habitat is tiny , roughly 1,500–2,000 square km, with most remaining animals clustered in an even smaller “Zero Tolerance Area” east of San Felipe, near the Colorado River Delta.

In simple terms: if you drew a small box in the very top of the Gulf of California, that little patch of ocean is the vaquita’s entire world.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.