Cabo San Lucas (popularly known as just 'Los Cabos' - along with
San José del Cabo - in
Mexico and 'Cabo' in the
United States) is a
city at the southern tip of the
Baja California peninsula at
22°53'N 109°54'W? / ?22.88°N 109.90°W? / 22.88; -109.90Coordinates 22°53'N 109°54'W? / ?22.88°N 109.90°W? / 22.88; -109.90, in the
municipality of
Los Cabos in the
state of
Baja California Sur,
Mexico. As of the 2005
census, the population was 56,811 people. It is the largest community in Los Cabos municipality, and the second-largest in
Baja California Sur, after
La Paz.
Cabo San Lucas is quickly becoming a high-end holiday destination with a number of resorts and timeshare clubs appearing along the coast between San Lucas and San José del Cabo.
The word cabo (pl. cabos) translates into English as cape and San Lucas is the Spanish name for Saint Luke. Thus Cabo San Lucas can be translated as Cape Saint Luke and Los Cabos as The Capes.
It is thought that the first humans came to the southern end of the peninsula 14,000 years ago. When the first Europeans arrived, they encountered nomadic groups of Pericú surviving on a subsistence diet based on the gathering of fruit, seeds, roots, and shellfish, as well as hunting and fishing. They lived a Neolithic lifestyle, without metals