For centuries, the Colorado River periodically emptied into a body of water known as Lake Cahuilla on the northern reaches of the Gulf of California. The Salton Sea was created there in 1905 when the river breached a dike and flooded for two years, bringing farm settlers to the Imperial Valley in California’s southeast corner.
California’s largest lake by surface area soon became a desert playground.
More than 2,000 spectators witnessed five world speedboat records set in 1929, according to the University of Redlands’ Salton Sea Atlas. High salinity made boats more buoyant and, at more than 200 feet below sea level, barometric pressure improved performance. A 1951 regatta boasted 21 world records.
In the 1950s, the California Department of Fish and Game stocked the lake with sargo, corvina, croaker and other fish in a successful effort to draw anglers. Water skiing flourished.
The North Shore Beach and Yacht Club opened as the largest marina in Southern California. Celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, the Beach Boys, Jerry Lewis, the Marx Brothers and Desi Arnaz flocked to the lake.
The “Salton Riviera” rivaled nearby Palm Springs and attracted more tourists than Yosemite National Park.
Developer Penn Phillips led a speculative boom in the late 1950s, buying and selling thousands of acres on the lake’s western shores. He abandoned Salton City without explanation in 1960, leaving behind only a few houses, sewers, a serpentine layout of empty roads and street signs with names like Sea View Avenue and Sea Mist Place.
Tropical storms in 1976 and 1977 destroyed marinas and resorts, triggering a prolonged economic decline. Environmental catastrophes, rising salinity and a receding shoreline caused tourism to plummet.
The economy rode the last housing boom and bust. New houses with red tile roofs that sold for up to $270,000 in Salton City when they were built in the mid-2000s fetched as little as $50,000 after the bubble burst and now cost in the low $100,000s.
Bombay Beach, a community that doubles to about 500 people during winter, has an apocalyptic feel. Utility poles and trailer debris that were flooded a few years ago are now exposed because the lake shrank.
The main tourist draw today is the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge on the lake’s southeastern shores, which has about 25,000 visitors a year. Nearly all are bird watchers.
FAQs
Although large seas have cyclically formed and dried over historic time in the basin due to natural flooding from the Colorado River, the current Salton Sea was formed when Colorado River floodwater breached an irrigation canal being constructed in the Imperial Valley in 1905 and flowed into the Salton Sink.
What is odd about the Salton Sea? ›
Interesting Facts
The Salton Sea has no outlet. Its surface elevation is 227 feet below sea level.
What is the main issue with the Salton Sea? ›
And the Salton Sea, the state's largest lake, relies on water draining from those fields to stay full. But it's been shrinking for decades, killing off fish species that attract migratory birds and exposing lake bed that generates dust that is harmful to human health.
Where did all the salt come from in the Salton Sea? ›
The salt comes from agricultural drainage and tail water and the Colorado River itself. How Salty is the Salton Sea? The Salton Sea is approximately 60 parts per thousand (PPT). By comparison ocean water is approximately 35 PPT.
How did the Salton Sea go bad? ›
Cut off from the life source that created it — the Colorado River — and sustained mainly by limited agricultural runoff from nearby farms, the landlocked waterbody began to evaporate. The water that remained became increasingly salty and toxic.
What was the Salton Sea before it was flooded? ›
Ancient Lake Cahuilla, which persisted until just 500 years ago, was at times even larger than the current Salton Sea – and productive enough to provide a delta fishery for the Indians in the region, whose fish traps are still visible far above the shores of the Sea today.
What's at the bottom of the Salton Sea? ›
They found that there's potentially enough lithium down there to supply batteries for 382 million electric vehicles, which is more, more vehicles than there are on the road in the United States today.
What is underneath the Salton Sea? ›
The Salton Sea in southern California is drying up. But below the surface is one of the largest lithium deposits in North America, and the race is on to bring it to market.
Is there a city under the Salton Sea? ›
Bombay Beach is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California, United States. It is located on the Salton Sea, 4 miles (6.4 km) west-southwest of Frink and is the lowest community in the United States, located 223 feet (68 m) below sea level.
Does anyone still live in Salton Sea? ›
Yes, people still live around the Salton Sea, although the population has fluctuated over the years. The Salton Sea is a large, shallow saline lake located in California's Imperial and Coachella Valleys. It was formed in the early 20th century as a result of an accidental breach in an irrigation canal.
The land under the Salton Sea is a patchwork of ownership spread across three primary entities: the federal government (mostly the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management), the Imperial Irrigation District (IID), and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. Sea Was Once a Recreational Destination.
What is the future of Salton Sea? ›
Salton Sea: Five years into California's 10-year plan
The Salton Sea Management Program's 10-year plan sets a target of constructing 30,000 acres of projects by 2028, with specific acreage targets each year set by the 2017 order from the State Water Resources Control Board.
How deep is Salton Sea? ›
What happens if the Salton Sea dried up? ›
Droughts, increasing temperatures, agriculture, water use—these things are all making the Salton Sea more dry. Every year, the sea shrinks, and the dusty, barren looking lake bed that surrounds it gets bigger. Less water means more dust—more dust that is harming humans and wildlife.
Can the Salton Sea be fixed? ›
To save the Salton Sea most effectively, a combination of strategies is needed, including: Reducing water use: One of the primary causes of the Salton Sea's decline is the diversion of water from the Colorado River and the reduction of agricultural runoff.
Is there a town under the Salton Sea? ›
The derelict "living ghost town" status of Bombay Beach has attracted many photographers, filmmakers, urban explorers, and tourists. The town, as well as others on the shores of the Salton Sea, is one of the lowest settlements in elevation in North America.
What did they find under the Salton Sea? ›
The combined subsurface geology and geothermal activity in the Salton Sea's KGRA result in high concentrations of lithium, and the KGRA has long been eyed as a rich source of the critical mineral.
Why did Salton Sea get abandoned? ›
The answer is multifaceted, but the downfall of the man-made lake can mostly be attributed to its poor construction and its lack of an outlet to the ocean. Still, in its century-long history, the Salton Sea has established quite a legacy for itself.
