Editing Gulf of California (section)

===Geology===
[[File:Gulf of California.jpg|300px|thumbnail|Satellite picture of the gulf]]
Geologic evidence is widely interpreted by geologists as indicating the gulf came into being around 5.3 million years ago as [[plate tectonics|tectonic forces]] rifted the [[Baja California peninsula]] off the [[North American plate]].<ref>[[Warren B. Hamilton|Hamilton, W.B.]], 1961, Origin of the Gulf of California: GSA Bull., 72, 1307–1318.</ref> As part of this process, the [[East Pacific Rise]] propagated up the middle of the Gulf along the seabed. This extension of the East Pacific Rise is often referred to as the [[Gulf of California Rift Zone]]. The Gulf would extend as far as [[Indio, California]], except for the tremendous [[river delta|delta]] created by the [[Colorado River]]. This delta blocks the sea from flooding the [[Mexicali]] and [[Imperial Valley]]s. Volcanism dominates the [[East Pacific Rise]]. The island of [[Tortuga Island, Baja California Sur|Isla Tortuga]] is one example of this ongoing volcanic activity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://review.nsf-margins.org/SPRCL.html |title=Science Plans RCL |publisher=review.nsf-margins.org |access-date=May 27, 2008 |archive-date=February 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218231705/http://review.nsf-margins.org/SPRCL.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Furthermore, [[hydrothermal vent]]s due to extension tectonic regime, related to the opening of the gulf, are found in the Bahía de Concepción, Baja California Sur.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Leal-Acosta, M.L., Prol-Ledesma, R.M.|year=2016|title=Caracterización geoquímica de las manifestaciones termales intermareales de Bahía Concepción en la Península de Baja California|journal=Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana|language=es|volume=68|issue=3|pages=395–407|doi=10.18268/BSGM2016v68n3a2|doi-access=free}}</ref>