Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake, located in the Sonoran Desert in Southern California north of the Imperial Valley. It varies in area due to rainfall, but averages 35 miles (56 km) long in its long axis, and 15 miles (24 km) wide in its short axis. The sea falls within the territory of both Riverside County and Imperial County. Like Death Valley, it is located below sea level, with the current surface of the Sea at approximately 225 ft (66 m) below sea level. The Sea is fed by the New, Whitewater, and Alamo rivers, as well as a number of minor agricultural drainage paths and creeks.

This body of water was created by accident in the Salton Depression in the 1905 when heavy rainfall caused flooding of canals supplying irrigation water to the Imperial Valley from the Colorado River. It took nearly two years to finally repair the canals and stop the flooding. The result of the sudden influx of water and the lack of natural drainage from the depression resulted in the formation of the Salton Sea.

While the Salton Depression has had significant waterbodies in it in the past (for example, scientists believe that 300 years ago a short-lived body of water called Lake Cahuilla existed in the valley, and eventually disappeared through evaporation), those bodies of water eventually evaporated away. The Salton Sea, on the other hand, is constantly replenished by more than 1 million acre-feet of runoff from surrounding agricultural communities, sustaining its water level.

Starting in the 1920s, the Salton Sea started to become a tourism attraction due to both water recreation and the large number of waterfowl attracted to the area. Indeed, the Salton Sea is now a major resource for migrating and wading birds. It has also had some success as a fishery, with species such as mullet, corvina, sargo, and tilapia being brought to the Sea from the 1930s to the 1950s, and as a resort area, with Salton City, Salton Sea Beach and Desert Shores being built on the western shore and Desert Beach and Bombay Beach built on the eastern shore in the 1950s. Niland is located 2 miles southeast of the Sea as well.

However, the lack of an outlet means that the Salton Sea is an inherently unstable ecosystem; variations in rainfall patterns have caused large fluctuations in water level (and hence flooding of surrounding communities), and the high salinity of the agricultural runoff feeding the Sea has resulting in an ever-increasing level of salinity. By the 1960s it was becoming apparent that the salinity of the Salton Sea was continuing to rise, jeopardizing some of the species inhabiting it. In fact, the Salton sea currently has a salinity exceeding 40 ppm, making it saltier than ocean water, and many species of fish are no longer able to survive in the Salton. It is believed that once the salinity surpasses 44 ppm, only the tilapia will be able to survive. Additionally, fertilizer runoff combined with the increasing salinity has resulted in large algal blooms and elevated bacteria levels.

The high level of bacteria is thought to be a major threat to the avian population. Indeed, in 1992 and 1996 large-scale die-offs of grebes and pelicans occurred, demonstrating the unstable nature of the ecosystem. High levels of selenium have also be found in the Sea and are thought to contribute to mortality and birth defect problems in the local bird populations. As a result, many efforts, both governmental and grassroots, have arisen to attempt to find a solution for the pollution and salinity problems of the Sea. Without further human intervention both the Salton Sea (a result of accidental human intervention itself) and the animal populations using it are threatened. Currently, plans for large desalination plants, evaporation ponds, outlet pipelines to the ocean, and causeways dividing the lake into portions have been investigated as possible solutions.

Additionally, the increasing saltiness, algae, and bacteria levels have taken their toll on tourism; many of the Salton Sea resorts are now closed and abandoned. Additionally, before recent water control measures were implemented, the Salton Sea's surface tended to rise and fall severely, causing flooding problems in some of the surrounding communities. However, the area still draws over 150,000 vacationers a year, primarily to the local campsites, trailer parks, and the