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Mulege
Mulegé is an oasis town in the Mexican state of Baja California until 1754 that Father Francisco Escalante started the construc-
Sur, situated at the mouth of the Río de Santa Rosalía river. tion of the mission. Years later many other Jesuit fathers came
It is the fourth-largest community in Mulegé Municipality. It had into today’s area of Mulegé to bring the Catholic faith and con-
a population of 3,821 according to the Mexican federal census of vert the natives to Catholicism. The river valley of today’s Mulegé
2010. Indigenous peoples had lived in this area for thousands of was discovered in 1702 by the Jesuit Father Juan Maria de Salva-
years due to the abundance of water in the river valley. In 1702, tierra as a place for a mission and consequently for a settlement.
Jesuit Father Juan Maria de Salvatierra identified the valley of to-
day’s Mulegé as a place for a mission to the Indians. It was not
