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SALTON SEA: A Modern Re-Creation Story

What are the limits of our control and what have we created?

The natural meandering flow of the Colorado periodically shifted over time, sometimes creating large lakes with no outlet. Evidence around the edges of what we today call the Salton Sea attests to the sea being created many times over the last thousand years.

On the Torres-Martinez Reservation. People expected the sea to dry up within 15 years. The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians were given rights to the land at the bottom of the lake.Courtesy of the photographer, Joan Myers.
On the Torres-Martinez Reservation. People expected the sea to dry up within 15 years. The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians were given rights to the land at the bottom of the lake. They have had to practice patience over the last 100 years - the Salton Sea has become a permanent feature of the landscape. Courtesy of the photographer, Joan Myers.
Over the last 100 years a portion of the sea has become a National Wildlife Refuge, a stopover in the Pacific flyway, and a drain for agricultural runoff for the Imperial, Coachella, and Mexicali valleys, which today grow one-third to one-half of the winter vegetables consumed in the United States. Recently the sea has been the site of massive grebe and pelican die-offs, high levels of selenium, and periodic algae blooms.
The Salton Sea now embodies our ìSalt Dreams.î Some dream of a Salton Riviera, a playground for Southern Californians; others have nightmares about the sea as a squalid salinized mess we have made.

Salton Sea Facts:

 
Highest level reached in historic time (February 1907): 197.5 feet below sea level

Approximate 1998 level: 227 feet below sea level

Maximum depth at 227 feet elevation: 51 feet; average depth: 31 feet

Desired level, as expressed in the Sonny Bono Memorial Salton Sea Restoration Act (introduced 1998): 230-240 feet below sea level

Approximate 1998 salinity: 44,000 to 45,000 parts per million (ppm)

Desired salinity, as expressed in the Sonny Bono Memorial Salton Sea Restoration Act: 35,000 to 40,000 PPM

Salinity of seawater: 35,000 PPM

Approximate 1907 surface area: 500 square miles

Surface area in 1998: 243,718 acres (381 square miles)

Average annual evaporation: 5.8 feet

Approximate 1998 inflow: 1.3 million acre-feet of water, including 4 million tons of dissolved salt

Greatest 1998 length (NW-SE): 36 miles

Greatest 1998 width (SW-NE): 15.5 miles

Average annual precipitation within basin: 2.5 inches

Number of days annually when temperate exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit: more than 110.

 

From Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California by William DeBuys and Joan Myers, University of New Mexico Press, 2001.Used by permission.
From Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California by William DeBuys and Joan Myers,
University of New Mexico Press, 2001.
Used by permission.

In the early part of the 20th century, farmers in the nearby Imperial Valley began diverting water from the Colorado River on a large-scale basis to water crops. In 1905 severe flooding upstream combined with an inadequately engineered gate caused the river to jump its channel. The flood lasted two years, filled the Salton Sink, and created the Salton Sea.

Natural or unnatural, herons enjoy a dock perch and fishermen take advantage of the Salton Sea environment. Courtesy of Salton Sea Authority.
Natural or unnatural, herons enjoy a dock perch and fishermen take advantage of the Salton Sea environment. Courtesy of Salton Sea Authority.

From Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California by William DeBuys and Joan Myers, University of New Mexico Press, 2001.Used by permission.
From Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California by William DeBuys and Joan Myers,
University of New Mexico Press, 2001.
Used by permission.
From Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California by William DeBuys and Joan Myers,University of New Mexico Press, 2001. Used by permission.
From Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California
by William DeBuys and Joan Myers,
University of New Mexico Press, 2001.
Used by permission.

 

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