Revillagigedo Islands

The Revillagigedo Islands rise from the Pacific far to the west of mainland Mexico. Volcanic peaks, isolated shores and sparse vegetation distinguish this remote archipelago. In 1533 the Spanish navigator Hernando de Grijalva sighted the island now called Socorro, naming it Santo Tomás after the saint of the day. The islands lay well beyond the settled coastal valleys and were known chiefly through voyages across the open sea.