The Salton Sea and Bombay Beach

     The Salton Sea is a saline lake located about seventy miles south of Palm Springs.  The Salton Sea covers 343 square miles.  It is about 15 miles wide and about 35 miles long.   The lake fills up and dries out about every 500 years, and its location also changes with each reincarnation depending on the path of the water sources that feed it.  As water flows in to the sea, it drops silt.  As a result, the land around the water is extremely fertile.  The Salton Sea lies 235 feet below sea level - almost as low as Death Valley.  The salt content of the lake is greater than that of the Pacific Ocean, and it gets saltier every year.  The water is also contaminated with agricultural run off that contains pesticides and fertilizer.  The Salton Sea was a popular resort area at one time; however, since the 1950s many settlements have either been abandoned or have shrunk due to increased pollution of the sea's water.  Anywhere near the water smells pretty bad.  When the sea water reaches summer time high temperatures, the fish kills (and sometimes bird kills) add to the stench.  People still visit the Salton Sea area.  They go to see the ruins and to gawk at settlements built by the homeless and those seeking alternate lifestyles.

The farming operations are enormous.  Water for irrigation comes from the Colorado River.  This is a citrus grove.  

Date Palm Trees
We couldn't determine what type of crop is planted in front of the date palms.

Grapes - for snacking, not for wine.

  

Salton Sea State Recreational Area
If you can stand the smell, you can camp or go boating.

 

      At 223 feet below sea level, Bombay Beach is the Unites States' lowest community.  We cruised the west end streets of Bombay Beach that are protected by a berm.  Beyond the berm, parts of the town are submerged or partially buried in mud.  If you are willing to trudge out there, you can get interesting photos.  We stayed in the car.

This foundation is all that remains.

This building has been abandoned.

This quite decent home is in the minority.  Homes that look like this .....

.... are surrounded by places like this.

The Ski Inn bills itself as the lowest bar in the western hemisphere.  You can also stop at the American Legion for a drink.  It is open to the public.  

     What's this?

This border patrol truck passed us as we headed back to Palm Springs.

A little bit later we saw that we had to pull off the road and go through this check point.  When they saw that we were a couple of old gringos, they shooed us through.