An accident created a lake. That lake fed millions of acres of farmland, became a booming tourist destination, and then collapsed into a ghost town, all within the span of less than a century.
In the Sonoran Desert of southern California lies a valley that sits far below sea level, much like Death Valley. Geologists believe this basin has flooded and dried out many times over the ages, but in terms of American history, the modern Salton Sea was born in 1905. It began with a canal that diverted Colorado River water into the Imperial Valley. A breach formed, the river changed course, and an inland sea returned almost overnight.
The runaway flow continued to feed the growing lake, eroding nearby banks and draining smaller lakes into it. By 1906, the Salton Sea was fully formed. Surveyors noted that waterfowl and pelicans were already nesting along its shores. The lake kept expanding until Union Pacific finally closed the breach and stopped the inflow.
With that, an accidental sea became a permanent feature. The Imperial Valley needed irrigation and drainage, and the federal government officially designated the area for agricultural use. Fish were introduced, and by the 1920s the Salton Sea had become a popular tourist spot. Sport fishing, boating, and lakeside recreation flourished while pumps sent water from the lake to the surrounding farmland.
Like any lake without an outlet, the Salton Sea grew saltier over time. Irrigation made the problem worse. Fresh water was pumped from the lake, spread across fields where it dissolved salts from the soil, and then flowed back into the lake carrying those salts with it. Pesticides such as DDT and Agent Orange, along with fertilizer runoff, also washed in.
By the 1950s, the Salton Sea attracted more visitors than Yosemite National Park. Freshwater fish could no longer survive, so saltwater species were introduced. More canals opened to support more farmland, which only accelerated the lake’s decline. By 1960, the Salton Sea even had a yacht club, yet California’s Fish and Game Commission warned that the lake could be dead within fifteen years.
In 1986, the state advised people to limit consumption of fish caught there due to high toxicity levels. By then, the decline was unmistakable. Rising salinity triggered massive algal blooms that produced an unforgettable stench. Some compared it to rotten eggs. Others described it as “puke on a hot sidewalk.” By the 1970s, the resorts were abandoned and the tourists were gone. The lake remained useful for irrigation and as a wildlife refuge, largely because development around Los Angeles had destroyed so many wetlands that migrating birds had nowhere else to go. Even so, the Salton Sea proved to be a troubled sanctuary. In the 1990s, two major die offs of birds occurred there.
Today, several ambitious plans aim to save the Salton Sea. Birds still gather along its shores, unaware of the chemical dangers in the water. Most people stay far away. The lake is now so polluted that eating anything from it is unsafe, yet it remains a designated wildlife preserve.
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