Pilot Rock

Pilot Rock rises from the Pacific near Guadalupe Island, far west of the Baja California Peninsula. The island itself is volcanic, with steep slopes exposed to the ocean winds. Sebastián Vizcaíno's expedition sighted it in 1602, but it remained remote from permanent settlement. In the early nineteenth century seal hunters and whalers began to visit, seeking animals for their skins and oil. Their ships found an isolated landmark in a wide expanse of sea.