In 1972 Beck and Nolson published some paleomagnetic results from the Mount Stuart batholith in British Columbia. The results suggested a large northward displacement along western North America on the order of 3000 km. The original location of Baja BC would have been around the latitude of Baja, California; hence the name, Baja British Columbia. However, views about tectonic evolution of western North America as well as concerns over reliability of the paleomagnetic data had the geologic community up in arms.