Loreto is a city and municipal seat of Loreto Municipality, Baja California Sur, on the West Coast of Mexico. Located on the Gulf of California, the city had a population of 20,385 inhabitants in 2019. Loreto is a regional economic and cultural center, as well as a major tourist destination on the Baja California Peninsula. Loreto was founded in 1697, when Juan María de Salvatierra founded Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó. The city served as the capital of Province of the Californias until 1777, when the capital moved to Monterey, California. Loreto continued to serve as the capital of Baja California until 1829. The city grew rapidly in the 20th century and is today a major tourist destination and regional hub. History Loreto was the first Spanish colonial settlement of the Viceroyalty of New Spain on the Baja California Peninsula. The town was founded in 1697 by Jesuit missionaries, who found a steady spring of fresh water on this site, as the Misión Nuestra Señora de Loreto. The Jesuits were expelled in 1767, and control of the Baja California missions was given to the Franciscans. In 1769, the Franciscans were ordered to turn over the Baja missions to the Dominican Order and accompany the expedition of Gaspar de Portolá to establish new missions in the unexplored northern frontier that became Alta California. The expedition departed from Loreto on March 24, 1769. The town served as the capital of the province of Las Californias from its founding until the capital was moved to Monterey on February 3, 1777. In 1768, the province had been split into Alta California (today's U.S. state of California) and Baja California. At first, the two provinces continued with a single governor. Later, the town became the headquarters for the Lieutenant Governor of California Viejo (the province of Baja California). The Municipality was created in 1992 and Loreto citizens elected their first Mayor (Municipal President) in 1993. The Federal Electoral Institute, as of February 3, 2008, recorded 9,073 registered voters for the Municipality of Loreto. Geography Loreto is located on the east coast of the Baja California Peninsula, at 26º00'46" N 111º20'36" W. It is bordered on the east by the Gulf of California, on the west by the Transpeninsular Highway, and on the south by the Arroyo Loreto, a dry creek bed that only fills with water after a heavy rainfall. The city is