Salton Sea: A Modern Engineering Disaster

Salton Sea - North Shore - looks dreamy from afar

Feb 3/2015  83 and sunny, tonight 59
Have you ever drove through a town or area and wondered "What has happened here?"  You see remnants of buildings, of a marina on the lake, old boats dilapidated, skeletons of once were cottages or homes.   What happened south of Palm Springs about a half hour away???

Salton Sea map and water flow into it

In 1905 this "modern" sea was accidentally created by engineers.  What once was the Salton Sink and mined for salt became the largest salt water lake in California.   The Imperial Canal system for irrigation were cut from the Colorado River to provide water to the Imperial Valley for farming of lettuce, sugar beets, carrots and alfalfa at the time.  But shortly there after due to fears of silt buildup, a cut was made in the bank of the Colorado River to further increase the water flow. The resulting outflow overwhelmed the engineered canal, and the river flowed into the Salton Basin for two years, filling the historic dry lake bed and creating the modern sea.  It took 2 years to stop the flow. The salinity of the lake is greater than that of the Pacific Ocean and it continues to increase in salt every year.  The only fish able to tolerate the salt and pollution with any success are Tilapia.  In the 1950's the Salton Sea was a tourist area for the near Palm Springs socialites.   Access to the water and beaches caused marinas and small resort towns to become popular.

Remnants of a Marina.... Desert Beach

But that soon changed as the Sea had no outflow but plenty of inflow of agricultural and fertilizer runoff;  the Salton Sea  became polluted and the fish died along the beaches.   The marinas and towns and houses became abandoned.   What looks like nice pink sandy beaches is really something else...... millions and millions of fish bones. 

pink colored beach , the drop from the top of bank is about 10 feet

skeletons of Fish in and on the beach

The Beach sand is not sand but Fish Bones

The smell is not pleasant as you get closer to the water..... like Dead Fish

In the 1990's Sonny Bono a California Congressman (and yes the singer from Sonny and Cher) launched a campaign to save the sea.   Since then the State of California has taken over the restoration plan with little improvement. 

Abandoned water front cottage in Bombay Beach

The trailer has seen better days

There are several ghost towns around the Sea worth visiting; Salton City, Niland, Bombay Beach, Desert Beach, North Shore, Salton Sea Beach, Slab City, Salvation Mountain.   There is lots of camping along the Sea, a State Park and some campgrounds.  Very spartan.  No amenities... and definitely bring your water.

A lone camper on the beach

We suggest you pack a lunch, snacks, and your own water and drinks.  Remember ghost towns usually don't have many modern day conveniences........ To be continued on a following post.