Laguna Ojo de Liebre is one of Baja's most prolific sites. Each spring its shallows boast the world's largest population of mating and birthing gray whales, and year round its tidal marshes support the world's largest producer of salt, much of which is exported northward to the United States. In recent years, the mining company town of Guerrero Negro has expanded its economic base with hospitality industries catering to visiting groups of eco-tourists.
No less fecund is the site in linguistic terms. Literally translated, the name means "Eye of the Jackrabbit Lagoon," but "ojo" in this context generally refers to an eye in the ground from which pour forth tears of water, in other words, a natural spring. "Liebre" refers to jackrabbits specifically, or more generally to hares, but more loosely its meaning can extend to other meek or skittish animals such as mice or chicken. Used metaphorically, it can be applied to as a synonym for "coward." The term figures in many colorful expressions, such as "donde (or "cuando") menos se piensa, salta la liebre," which means "where (or when) you least expect it, up jumps the jackrabbit." In other words, when you least expect it, expect it. The notion of a rabbit jumping up suddenly figures in other expressions with connotations similar to "spilling the beans" and "letting the cat out of the bag." The english name for the place is "Scammon's Lagoon," named after the whaling captain who first discovered the breeding ground and who coined the term "mudhole whaling."
