Qualla: The Salton Sea https://qualla.com/salton-sea en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:03 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/v/t/bombay-beach-ruins-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: The Salton Sea https://qualla.com/salton-sea The Salton Sea: Introduction https://qualla.com/salton-sea/ Photo credit Tuxyso, CC BY-SA 3.0. In California's Imperial Valley, a sea that shouldn't exist is slowly dying. The Salton Sea, California's largest lake, was created by accident in 1905 when irrigation canals breached and the Colorado River poured into the below-sea-level basin for two years. By the time engineers stopped the flow, a sea had formed. For decades, the Salton Sea flourished - it became a resort destination in the 1950s and 1960s, with yacht clubs, hotels, and 1.5 million annual visitors. Then the sea began dying. Rising salinity killed fish; the resorts closed; the towns emptied. Today, the Salton Sea is an environmental disaster and eerie landscape - dead fish coating the shores, abandoned buildings, salt-encrusted beaches, yet still attracting millions of migratory birds to one of America's strangest places.

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Image: Tuxyso | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/v/t/salton-sea-wk/9mvt-the-salton-sea-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Salton Sea: The Accident https://qualla.com/salton-sea/ Photo credit Clarence Everett Tait, Public domain. The Salton Sink had filled with water before - Ancient Lake Cahuilla covered this basin as recently as 400 years ago. But the modern Salton Sea was a man-made disaster. In 1905, irrigation engineers attempting to divert water from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley lost ...

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Image: Clarence Everett Tait | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/v/t/salton-sea-wk/9mvt-the-salton-sea-the-accident.mp3 0:06 2 full The Salton Sea: The Resort Era https://qualla.com/salton-sea/ Photo credit The original uploader was Epolk at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5. By the 1950s, the Salton Sea was a premier resort destination. The warm climate, water skiing, and sport fishing drew hundreds of thousands of visitors. Communities like Bombay Beach, Desert Shores, and Salton City sprouted along the shores. Yacht clubs opened; the Beach Boys per...

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Image: The original uploader was Epolk at English Wikipedia. | CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/v/t/salton-sea-wk/9mvt-the-salton-sea-the-resort-era.mp3 0:06 3 full The Salton Sea: The Collapse https://qualla.com/salton-sea/ Photo credit Gentle, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Salton Sea had no outlet. Agricultural runoff and evaporation concentrated salts - by the 1980s, salinity exceeded that of the Pacific Ocean. Fish began dying in massive numbers. The stench of rotting fish drove away tourists. Resorts closed; property values collapsed; reside...

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Image: Gentle | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/v/t/salton-sea-wk/9mvt-the-salton-sea-the-collapse.mp3 0:06 4 full The Salton Sea: The Crisis https://qualla.com/salton-sea/ Photo credit Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Salton Sea is now an environmental emergency. As the lake shrinks, exposed lakebed releases toxic dust - arsenic, selenium, and pesticides from decades of agricultural runoff. Wind carries the dust across the Imperial Valley, contributing to some of the highest childhood asth...

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Image: Brocken Inaglory | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/v/t/salton-sea-wk/9mvt-the-salton-sea-the-crisis.mp3 0:06 5 full The Salton Sea: Visiting the Salton Sea https://qualla.com/salton-sea/ Photo credit Alexander Novati, CC BY 3.0. The Salton Sea is located in California's Imperial and Riverside Counties, accessible via Highway 111 from the north or south. The Salton Sea State Recreation Area offers camping and boat launching on the sea's east shore. Bombay Beach, on the southeastern shore, has become an ar...

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Image: Alexander Novati | CC BY 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/v/t/salton-sea-wk/9mvt-the-salton-sea-visiting-the-salton-sea.mp3 0:06 6 full