The salton Sea is an eerie, serene and beautiful landscape. This place is not given enough recognition.
How did California’s dream vacation turn into a poisonous disaster? Salton Sea Beach California
The Salton Sea is a saltwater lake located in the California desert. Its beaches are home to the Salton Sea State Recreation Area and the Sonny Bono Salten Sea National Wildlife Refuge. The Salton Sea surrounds the Saltonia, a remnant of prehistoric Lake Cahuilla.
The Imperial Valley, affluent agricultural regions, and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to the west and Coachella Valley to north are adjacent to it. The San Andreas fault commences at Bombay Beach and proceeds 800 miles northward. In 2016, research revealed the presence of a Salton Trough fault, which runs parallel to the San Andreas fault under the Sea. Locally, the geologic background has given rise to many mud pots and resulting muddy volcanoes.
Between 1905 and 1907, the Salton Sea was created by the Colorado River’s rupture due to inadequate irrigation controls south of Yuma, Arizona. Nearly the entire river flow flooded into communities, farms, and the Southern Pacific Railroad’s main line for over a year. By constructing protective levees in response to boxcars dumping boulder debris from Southern Pacific tracks,
the continued filling of the Salton Sink was finally stopped in 1907. The lake had grown to an area of roughly 400 square miles, measuring approximately 40 miles in length and 13 miles wide as an inland lake.
Presently, the Salton Sea is 35 by 15 miles (50 m) in size, and it can reach 40 by almost 20 mm in rainy seasons. On average, its depth is 29. At its deepest point, it measures 9 feet and is 51 feet. There is 7 in it. 3 million acre-feet of water evaporates. A yearly average of 3 million acre-feet. The south end of the Sea has a five-mile long trench that is 51 feet deep. The Sea’s current height is 228 feet below the water level. Surprisingly, the Salton Sea’s bed is only five feet higher than the lowest point in Death Valley.
Irrigation runoff supplemented the Salton Sea’s water level after its initial fill as farming in Imperial County began. fertiliser, pesticides and heavy salts in agricultural runoff that fed the lake. The lake’s fish population, including saltwater fish, perished as the salinity level rose. It is slightly saltier than the Pacific Ocean. With the increasing concentration of salt in the Sea, all but the tilapia are expected to die off. The freshwater fish from Africa, known as Tilapia, was introduced into the canal system to control the growth of algae and can withstand it.
A shallow, flat and shallow depth of Salton Sea can reveal thousands of feet of dry lake bed. Due to its exposed location, the playa drys out quickly in the desert heat and sun.
Air pollution is a significant issue due to the winds that push up dust. The significant decrease in water flow into the lake leads to an increase in salinity, which ultimately results in the death of hardy tilapia fish, migration for birds that feed on them, and worsening dust levels.
California Natural Resources Agency will update the State Water Board and other interested parties on the Salton Sea Management Program, which aims to improve air quality and provide habitat for species that depend on the Salton Sea, among other goals. California Natural Resources Agency will provide a progress report on Phase 1 (2018-2028) of the Salton Sea Management Program and discuss the Long-Range Plan for beyond 2028.
Attendees will also learn how various groups are working to address and mitigate environmental impacts from the shrinking, increasingly salty lake.
The meeting will take place over two days (May 16-17) and will provide live interpretation in Spanish. We welcome all interested parties and have multiple options for participation: 1) in-person at Imperial Valley College, 2) remote viewing at the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club, and 3) virtually via Zoom (to provide comment) or webcast (watch-only). Read the public notice and learn more about the Salton Sea and how to participate in the workshop at
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