All over the world Muleg� is famous for its rich fishing grounds in the Sea of Cortez. A warm current from the southern and a cold current from the northern Pacific come together in the Muleg� area of the Sea of Cortez and encourage a great variety of different fish species. The Sea of Cortez is named after the Spanish explorer Hern�n Cort�s. In the past Muleg� made its living mostly from fishing and from farming. Today tourism is a major income source for Muleg�. Deep sea fishing is also one of Muleg�'s tourist attractions. Kayaking, cave tours and bird watching, fishing with or without charters to catch a big game fish are popular attractions. Today's tourism industry in Muleg� is based on the fact that in 1976 the Highway MX 1 - a paved road - was constructed and Muleg� became easily accessible by land. A trip from the US border to Muleg� which takes no more than 12 hours today could last four or more days before the construction of the highway. A major setback to the tourist industry in Mulege was Hurricane John in 2006. Tropical Storm Julio in 2008, and Hurricane Jimena in 2009. All three hurricanes created major precipitation followed by high floods. All over the Mulege area from the Pacific to the Sea of Cortez rainfall and floods were devastating. Mulege was flooded by over 20 feet of water at the highway bridge and by 6 feet in the upper regions of town. Many homes located in the river valley were washed into the Sea of Cortez. Clean-up is still not completed at this time, end of 2011
