Laguna del Caimanero

The Caimanero lagoon, together with the Huizache lagoon to the north, forms one of the largest coastal wetlands on Mexico's Pacific coast, lying between the Presidio and Baluarte rivers in the municipalities of El Rosario and Mazatlán. The Huizache-Caimanero system covers more than 48,000 hectares and was declared a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 2007.

It is a key stop on the Pacific flyway. More than 20,000 shorebirds of over 20 species gather here, with American avocets, dowitchers, marbled godwits, and western sandpipers among the most numerous, along with American white pelicans and roseate spoonbills. The lagoon is also the livelihood of the villages around it: shrimp fishing is the main activity, and Caimanero was once the most productive shrimp lagoon on the Mexican Pacific, with a record catch of 32 tons in a single day in 1983.

In the hot, dry months the shallow marshes dry out and natural salt crystallizes on the surface, turning parts of the lagoon into a dazzling white plain. Locals collect the salt in buckets and sacks, and visitors come to take photos until the summer rains return.