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The Salton Sea
In Southern California’s Colorado Desert lies the Salton Sea, a lake that wasn’t meant to exist. It formed by accident in 1905 when the Colorado River broke through an irrigation canal and flooded the Salton Sink for 18 months.
Back in the 1950s and ’60s, it also used to be popular vacation spot where people came to boat and fish. Today, it’s a toxic lake surrounded by ghost towns, where the beach is made of fish bones and the air smells like decay. Here’s the story.
It’s Saltier Than the Pacific Ocean
The water in the Salton Sea contains much more salt than the Pacific Ocean – about 50% more. Every year, the salt levels rise by 1% because the hot sun makes water evaporate quickly and very little fresh water flows in. Farm runoff and underground water full of minerals add to this problem.
Most fish can’t live in such salty water anymore, except for tilapia, which are tough enough to survive these harsh conditions.
Hot Springs and Mud Volcanoes Bubble Underground
They indicate volcanic activity under the Salton Sea. The ground is so hot down there that it reaches 680 degrees Fahrenheit. Carbon dioxide gas pushes through mud and minerals to create mud volcanoes that can grow up to 6 feet tall.
People have built eleven power plants near these hot spots to make electricity from the earth’s heat. These plants create enough power for 180,000 homes. All this geological activity happens because the San Andreas Fault runs through this area.
It’s a Major Bird Migration Route
Birds traveling between Alaska and South America often stop at the Salton Sea to rest and feed. You can see more than 400 different types of birds here, which makes it one of the most important bird areas in North America. Almost all of North America’s eared grebes – around 1.5 million birds – spend time at the lake during winter.
From October to March, you’ll find many other birds too, like snow geese and white pelicans. This lake became even more important for birds after California turned most of its wetlands into cities and farms.
There’s a Military Base from World War II
The U.S. Navy turned the Salton Sea into a training area during World War II. They picked this spot because it looked like the Sea of Japan, where many pilots would later fly missions. The base opened in 1942 and had a long runway, areas for seaplanes, and places to practice bombing.
Today, you can still find pieces of this history scattered around the shore. Old concrete buildings, parts of hangars, and testing areas remain, though they’re weathered by time and salt. The Navy used to test planes here, including the PBY Catalina seaplane.
The Lake Affects Local Weather
The Salton Sea is so big that it changes the weather of its surrounding areas. It creates its own climate by affecting temperature, humidity, and wind in the nearby desert areas. In summer, the lake experiences an estimated annual net evaporation of about 1.8 meters.
The high evaporation rate causes the Salton Sea’s surface elevation to drop, leading to a decrease in surface area and an increase in salinity. While the lake helps keep nearby areas from getting too hot, this effect is getting weaker as the lake shrinks.
The Exposed Lake Bottom Creates Dangerous Dust
The lake is getting smaller by about 6 feet each year, leaving behind a crusty surface full of farm chemicals and pollution. When strong desert winds blow at 50 miles per hour, they pick up this toxic dust and create dust storms.
This exposed lake bottom contains high levels of harmful substances like arsenic and old pesticides from the 1950s and ’60s. These dust storms can reach Los Angeles and make it hard to see more than a quarter mile ahead. Since 2000, around 40% more people near the lake are said to have developed asthma.
Ancient Native American Settlements Were Found Near Shore
Native American tribes lived in this area for over 10,000 years, long before the current lake existed. They lived near Lake Cahuilla, which was four times bigger than today’s Salton Sea and would fill up and dry out over time.
Researchers have found many old objects here, like fishing nets preserved by desert minerals and pottery from 1000 CE. When the water is low, you can see old shorelines marked with white calcium deposits and places where Native Americans left behind fish bones and tools.
Former Towns Rest Under the Salton Sea
When the flood of 1905 created the Salton Sea, it covered up several communities. The Colorado River flood breached an irrigation canal submerging the town of Salton, a Southern Pacific Railroad siding, the New Liverpool Salt Company, and part of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation.
Sometimes when the water level drops, old buildings peek out from under the water. People have found well-preserved wooden beams and metal machinery. In 2021, the shrinking lake revealed the foundation of a ranch house from 1902.
Unique Fish Species Have Been Lost to Rising Salt Levels
A special type of desert pupfish once lived in the Salton Sea. These small, silver-blue fish were only as long as a thumb, but they could handle water twice as salty as the ocean and temperatures from 40 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. These fish had developed special gills to deal with the lake’s unusual mix of minerals.
By 1985, though, they had disappeared from the lake because of pollution and too much salt. While other types of pupfish still live in nearby desert streams, this unique group is gone forever.
You Can Smell the Stench from LA
When algae grows too much and fish die in large numbers, the Salton Sea produces a strong rotten-egg smell that people can smell miles away in Los Angeles. This happens because bacteria break down dead plants and animals in water that doesn’t have enough oxygen.
The smell gets worse in summer when temperatures go above 110 degrees and oxygen levels in the water drop very low. The gas that causes this smell, hydrogen sulfide, can give people headaches and breathing problems, especially from July to September when most fish die.
Farm Water Keeps the Salton Sea From Drying Up
Farm runoff from 500,000 acres of Imperial Valley farmland prevents the Salton Sea from disappearing completely. This water makes up 90% of what flows into the lake and carries about millions of tons of dissolved salts each year.
While this water keeps the lake alive, it also brings in decades worth of pesticides and fertilizers that make the water more toxic. Farmers need the lake to drain their fields, but this same drainage is slowly making the lake more polluted.
An Environmental Crisis is Looming
Scientists are worried about what will happen to the Salton Sea by 2030. The lake is losing 440 billion gallons of water each year because San Diego County is taking less water and farms are using less too.
If nothing changes, the dry lake bed could release 100 tons of toxic dust every day, affecting hundreds of thousands of people who live in Imperial and Riverside counties.
The post This California Lake Is Saltier Than The Pacific Ocean, Kicks Up Toxic Dust, And Smells Like Decay appeared first on When In Your State.