The Salton Sea

 

The Salton Sea in California's Imperial Valley has to be one of the strangest places I've ever visited.  I wanted to like it.  I tried to like it.  But couldn't.  Decay.  Abandoned buildings.  Dead fish.  Algae abloom with stench.  It is a place that never should have been.  It has no soul.

 With that being said, I am glad I finally saw the place.  Its existence is a strange tale, as well.  It is really an extension of the Gulf of California, although landlocked. Two thousand years ago, however, the lake was huge and beautiful-- full of fresh water, providing fish and abundant wildlife for the Cahuilla natives.  Over the centuries it began to shrink and occasionally dried up during drought-stricken years.   The basin was therefore below sea level.  In 1905, it was a very wet year and the mighty Colorado River could not handle the additional rainfall and melting snow.  Down, down, down it flowed, breaching dikes and canals used for irrigation, flooding valleys and finally filling up the Salton basin, making it once again the largest lake in California.  There were massive waterfalls during the year and a half it took to fill up the sea.  What a sight that must have been! 

Because the lake is located along the path of the Pacific Flyway, thousands of birds spend the winter here, including many endangered species.  There is abundant tilapia in the lake, the only fish species able to thrive here.  There is no outflow to the ocean so the lake has become very salty, saltier than even the Pacific.  The only inflow is from a few nearby rivers and runoff from agriculture.   However, tilapia cannot survive cold temperatures so there are big "die-offs".  The shores consist of old barnacles and the recent dead.  The birds don't seem to mind the stink one bit, but we could not get the smell out of our nostrils for two days!  The ranger assured us the fish were safe to eat, but talking to a few locals about it, they said, "No way.  I eat no fish from the Salton Sea."

In 2003 the California legislature passed the Salton Sea Restoration Act, but I'm not too optimistic.   With the plight of our economy and budget restraints, who knows when it will happen.  I'd like to think we could restore it to its former glory.  Evidently, in the 1950's and 1960's, this was a hotspot for fishing and recreation, even more popular than Yosemite Valley.  It had a soul.