The Environmental Disaster Known as the Salton Sea, CA

How big is the Salton Sea?​

As the largest inland lake in California, the Sea stretches approximately 35 miles in length and 15 miles in width. It covers a surface area of roughly 343 square miles and has around 110 miles of shoreline. The deepest point of the Salton Sea is just 51 feet.

• California’s most popular water resort

• Accidental and unnatural

• Miracle in the desert

• Crown jewel of avian biodiversity

• Ecological nightmare and disaster

• Ghost town in the making

• Family getaway of the 1950s and 60s

These phrases have all been used at various times to describe the Salton Sea. It's not only a fascinating and sad place to visit, but the fact that the Salton Sea can be described in all these ways offers an intriguing history lesson.

Brief History

In the spring of 1905, after heavy rains, the Colorado River overflowed and damaged a poorly constructed irrigation canal. Attempts to close the breach were unsuccessful, and for 18 months, the river continued to flood the Salton Sink, filling it with fresh water like a vast shallow basin. The Southern Pacific Railroad, which had significant rail interests in the region, intervened and halted rail traffic in California for two weeks to redirect all rolling stock to the Salton Sink. Two thousand workers unloaded over 3,000 specially designed railroad cars filled with boulders, wood, and dirt into the flooded canal. This plan succeeded: the Colorado River returned to its original path into the Sea of Cortez. The lake formed by the flooding wasn't deep but was vast, covering nearly a thousand square miles. The Salton Sea, as the lake is now known, was largely left untouched for several decades; runoff from the Imperial Valley's extensive farmland counterbalanced much of the high annual evaporation rate, keeping the lake sustainable.

Enter the 1950s.

As the nearby desert resort of Palm Springs gained popularity, developers recognized new opportunities at the Salton Sea. Towns such as Salton City and Bombay Beach emerged along its shores. The area transformed into a lively fishing and tourist spot, featuring lakeside resort towns. Vacation homes were constructed, hotels and restaurants opened, businesses flourished, and the region prospered.

In 1959, the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club debuted as Southern California's largest marina. The lake attracted celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, the Beach Boys, Jerry Lewis, the Marx Brothers, and Desi Arnaz. The 'Salton Riviera' competed with nearby Palm Springs, and at its height, the Salton Sea attracted 1.5 million visitors each year, surpassing Yosemite. Business was thriving, earning it the nickname ‘miracle in the desert’.

The Salton Sea was not only an outstanding tourist destination, but it also serves as an essential resting point for birds along the Pacific Flyway. The Pacific Flyway is a significant north-south migration route for birds in America, stretching from Alaska to Patagonia. Each year, migratory birds cover portions or the entirety of this route during spring and fall, seeking food, reaching breeding areas, or moving to overwintering locations. More than 400 bird species have been recorded at the Salton Sea.

This area hosts the most diverse and likely the most important bird populations in the continental United States, comparable only to Big Bend National Park in Texas. It is home to 30% of the remaining American white pelican population. On one of our visits, I took some photos of the birdlife along the beach, but I didn't have the right lens to capture high-quality images from afar. I'll come better prepared next time. Below is the American White Pelican.

The Sea hosts North America's largest population of migratory waterfowl outside the Everglades and offers essential nesting grounds for two-thirds of the bird species in the Continental US. Pictured below is the Black-necked Stilt.

Enter the 70s

The popularity of this man-made California lake was short lived. As a terminal lake, the Salton Sea lacks any outflow, and in the late 1970s a series of heavy tropical storms caused the water level to rapidly rise and flood its banks. The surrounding towns and businesses were severely damaged, many beyond repair, and tourism began to shift away. Builders abandoned their partially completed developments, leaving behind only a few houses, sewers, a serpentine layout of empty roads and street signs with names like Sea View Drive and Desert Beach Drive.

Over time, irrigation runoff from the nearby agricultural Imperial Valley entered the Sea, and without a natural outlet, the Sea couldn't expel toxins. Furthermore, it became more saline. By the mid-1970s, fish started to die, birds fell ill, and tourists stopped visiting. What was once hailed as the 'miracle in the desert' is now referred to as an 'ecological nightmare and disaster'—a ghost town in the making.

In recent decades, millions of fish have perished in the lake, partly due to decreased oxygen levels in the water during heatwaves. Severely decomposed fish are scattered along the Salton Sea's shoreline, further exposed to the sun until their bones completely disintegrate. The most severe incident occurred in the summer of 1999 when over 8 million tilapia died in a single day, washing ashore in a stretch approximately three miles wide and ten miles long. Interestingly, tilapia are remarkable fish. Although they are freshwater species, they have adapted over 30 generations to survive in the 'salty' Salton Sea.

As if oxygen deficiency weren't already a significant issue, rising salinity levels are exacerbating this environmental crisis. The Salton Sea Authority reports that 4,000,000 tons of dissolved salts flow into the Salton Sea annually. These salts originate from agricultural runoff, tail water, and the Colorado River itself. Biologists caution, "We are at a tipping point. In the coming years, tilapia will reach their salt tolerance limits, leading to a massive die-off of tens of millions of these fish. If the fish perish due to hyper-salinity, the birds will also suffer. It's going to become extremely chaotic."

Hugh bird kills have already occurred. The major die-offs started in the 1990s, with 150,000 eared grebes perishing in 1992. Robert H. Boyle, reporting for the Smithsonian, noted that "the surviving grebes were so disoriented that they remained motionless while gulls attacked and consumed them right there." In 1996, 15,000 pelicans, accounting for 20% of the Western population, died at the Salton Sea.

Here is a glimpse of the result of the Colorado River irrigation in the area surrounding the Salton Sea. These practices that transformed the Imperial and Coachella valleys from a desert wasteland to a lush agricultural empire are largely responsible. Canals divert Colorado River water to crops. It's an ironic twist of nature, the rivers and runoff that poison the sea also sustain it. This picture was taken in the farmlands adjacent to the Mecca Hills.

What a paradox the Salton Sea presents.

From afar, the sea appears stunning. The water glistens with a deep blue hue, giving the impression of gentle white sand beaches.

As you get closer the site changes quickly. It's eerily weird; just lonely picnic tables. There are no beach umbrellas, no children playing, or people swimming.

The soft white sand is actually coarse piles of fish bones piled by over several decades.

The 'bone sand' is littered with sun-bleached fish carcasses.

The image of shimmering water is enhanced by foam created by the agricultural chemical runoff. It may look great in pictures but it's a bad omen for fish and wildlife that rely on the sea.

As you get even closer, the 'blue' water takes on different colors. Increasing phosphate and nitrate run-off results in out-of-control algae growth. It's difficult to see in this picture, but just below the surface is a brown and blue-green tint from an algae bloom.

These environmental conditions are not just taking a toll on plant, fish and birds. There are well documented health impacts on residents near the Salton Sea. Because the Salton has been used as an 'agricultural sump' for a century, as it recedes it leaves behind a dangerous dried lake bed. So the most pressing issue for residents near the Salton Sea is the continued threat of wind blown toxic dust from the lake bed that contains harmful pesticides, heavy metals and powdery-fine particles that are linked to asthma, respiratory diseases and even cancer. Imperial County, which houses the Salton Sea, currently has the highest asthma-hospitalization rates in the state.

According to a local official, "CA issued a $9 billion plan in 2007, for example, that failed to gain any traction—possibly because Imperial County, one of the poorest counties in California, has relatively little political muscle. If the Salton Sea was next to Sacramento, San Francisco, or Los Angeles, the problems would have been fixed a long time ago." We can hope that the State and Federal government can step up and address this human health and environmental crisis before it is too late.

The Salton Sea won't return to the glory of the 50s but we need a solution now that address the most pressing needs. It would be nice to be among the crowds that come to appreciate the wonderful Salton Sea now and in the future.