Eco-Disasters 101: The Salton Sea

The Salton Sea was accidentally created in the early 1900s when an irrigation canal from the Colorado River became catastrophically clogged with silt. Engineers dug a temporary bypass without proper head gates, and when heavy rains and snow melt hit in 1906, water flooded uncontrollably into the Salton Basin for three years. It took the Southern Pacific Railroad dumping over 2,000 carloads of rock, gravel, and clay to finally seal the breach in 1907, by which time a 400-square-mile inland sea had formed.

• The Salton Basin had naturally formed lakes for at least 40,000 years due to Colorado River flooding, which would cyclically fill and evaporate over centuries
• The Imperial Canal was built in the early 1900s to divert Colorado River water for irrigation of the region's rich soil, but it kept clogging with silt
• Engineers dug a temporary bypass around a major clog but didn't install proper head gates to control water flow
• 90,000 cubic feet of water per second (equivalent to an Olympic-sized pool every second) flowed into the Salton Sea during the breach
• The Southern Pacific Railroad finally sealed the breach in 1907 using 2,057 carloads of rock, 221 of gravel, and 203 of clay

In the 1950s and 60s, developers transformed the Salton Sea into a thriving resort destination marketed as the 'California Riviera' or 'Palm Springs by the Sea.' The area featured tiki bars, yacht clubs, speedboat races, and performances by celebrities like Elvis and Frank Sinatra. Fish were stocked, including tilapia and sport fish, which attracted hundreds of bird species along the Pacific Flyway. By the 1930s, it had become such an important wildlife refuge that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created the Salton Sea Wildlife Refuge to protect it.

• The area was stocked with tilapia and sport fish, attracting birds along the Pacific Flyway migratory route
• By the 1950s, developers created the 'California Riviera' with tiki bars, restaurants, and a very Palm Springs-y vibe
• Elvis and Frank Sinatra performed at the Salton Sea during its heyday
• The North Shore Beach and Yacht Club became the crown jewel destination, with developers investing $2 million in 1960 money
• A resident described it as 'like a spring break party all the time' in Bombay Beach