Loreto is located on the east coast of the Baja California Peninsula, at 26º00'46" N 111º20'36" W. The town area is bordered to the East side by the Gulf of California, on the West by the Transpeninsular Highway and on the South side by the Arroyo Loreto, a dry creek bed that only fills with water after a heavy rainfall. The city is built on relatively flat land; the average elevation is 10 meters (33 ft) above sea level. To the west of the city area is located the “La Giganta” Mountain Range (“Sierra de la Giganta”), which extends along the center of the state of Baja California Sur, parallel to the gulf coast.
As for the geology and topography of the Loreto region (from Bahía Concepción to Agua Verde), it’s described by Paul J. Umhoefer as coastal belt that “consists mainly of a narrow belt of ridges, valleys, and pediments adjacent to the escarpment, low- to moderate-elevation ranges transverse to the coast, and narrow coastal plains” (description made in his complete study about the geology of the Loreto region, publicated by the Geological Society of America Bulletin).