Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
At Nai Mong Hoi Thod, the oyster omelet is worth waiting for.
Nai Mong Hoi Thod
Silver Queen
Glenfiddich House
The on site museum preserves objects recovered from the mounds.
Charaideo Moidam
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California Mecca Salton Sea

Salton Sea

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.

Mecca, California

Added By
Rebekah Otto
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Pretty nice for an infrastructure accident!   Jessica Leigh Hester/Atlas Obscura
Fish had a hard time surviving in the salty sea.   mst7022/cc by 2.0
The salty sand looks like the moon.   Jessica Leigh Hester/Atlas Obscura
Barnacles, barnacles everywhere.   Jessica Leigh Hester/Atlas Obscura
The visitor’s center includes “Salton Sea Hush Puppies,” fatty balls formed during mass fish die-offs.   Jessica Leigh Hester/Atlas Obscura
  Mathias Van de Velde / Atlas Obscura User
Spring 2021   ccesare / Atlas Obscura User
Spring 2019   ccesare / Atlas Obscura User
Spring 2019   ccesare / Atlas Obscura User
Alkali flats and tire tracks, Salton Sea   RogueSuit / Atlas Obscura User
Lone tree Salton Sea   RogueSuit / Atlas Obscura User
Fishing platform, looking East over Salton Sea   RogueSuit / Atlas Obscura User
Flooded poles/wires, looking East from the West bank of Salton Sea.   RogueSuit / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

This may sound obvious, but most rain eventually finds its way to the oceans, either via groundwater, rivers or lakes with permeable rock underneath. Some water, though, gets trapped in large basins that sit below sea level, and the water flows in but never flows out.

The Salton Sea near the Mexican border in Southern California has been at various levels for three million years. Technically a "saline lake," it is saltier than the ocean, though slightly less salty than the Great Salt Lake. The basin was nearly dry until the beginning of the 1900s when failed irrigation canals diverted the Colorado River into the large basin, and the raging river brought the snowmelt from the Rockies into the Salton Sea. 

The engineers from the Southern Pacific railroad were unable to stem the waterfall that the river created. By petitioning Congress and President Roosevelt, the engineers received the "battleship" loads of rock they needed to block the hole, however, it took more than six months before they diverted the river again. The Salton Sea had grown larger than Lake Tahoe to its current size of about 15 miles wide and 35 miles long.

At first, it was unclear that this lake was a nuisance. The Sea was a productive fishery during the 1940s, and with post-war wealth became a popular tourist spot in the '50s, with resorts, beachfront homes, and water skiing, seeing the likes of regulars like Sonny Bono and the Beach Boys.

But the incredible salinity of the lake and the heavy agriculture of Southern California slowly destroyed the ecosystem. Today, the sea is fed by agricultural runoff, and many of the fish species, save the hardy tilapia, could not survive. Migratory birds were poisoned with botulism and other lethal bacteria. The sea keeps on getting saltier, because the influx of water is less than what's evaporating. 

The State of California has been involved in efforts to restore the sea, but that's easier said than done. The main worry is that the waters will eventually evaporate completely and turn the area into a giant dust bowl. The area is also home to one of the most diverse populations of birds in North America, housing over 400 species, and a wildlife refuge offers plenty of spots to watch them. 

Currently the banks of the Salton Sea are vivid, surreal landscapes littered with dead fish and other detritus of human habitation—and a few signs of life.

Related Tags

Wonders Of Salt Water Ruins Salton Sea

Know Before You Go

In addition to the visitor center and camp store, the Salton Sea State Recreation Area still offers tent camping and RV hook-ups, plus boat ramps. 

Community Contributors

Added By

Rebekah Otto

Edited By

Rachel, Tlamatini, Gin Minsky, jondi letnap...

  • Rachel
  • Tlamatini
  • Gin Minsky
  • jondi letnap
  • jessicahester1
  • ccesare
  • Mathias Van de Velde
  • MtnLady
  • RogueSuit

Published

January 31, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://seaanddesert.org/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_sea
  • http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/26542
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorheic_basin
  • http://books.google.com/books?id=uw64AAAAIAAJ
  • http://minskysabandoned.com/2016/04/07/salton-sea/
Salton Sea
100-225 State Park Road
Mecca, California, 92254
United States
33.503656, -115.914854
Get Directions

Nearby Places

International Banana Museum

Mecca, California

miles away

Dos Palmas and San Andreas Springs

Mecca, California

miles away

Bombay Beach

Bombay Beach, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mecca

Mecca

California

Places 4
Stories 2

Nearby Places

International Banana Museum

Mecca, California

miles away

Dos Palmas and San Andreas Springs

Mecca, California

miles away

Bombay Beach

Bombay Beach, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mecca

Mecca

California

Places 4
Stories 2

Related Stories and Lists

Patricia Arquette Has a Thing for the Weird Art of California's High Desert

desert art

By Matthew Taub

Salton Sea

Podcast

By The Podcast Team

The Last Mayors of the Salton Sea

Video

By Atlas Obscura

The Once Glamorous Salton Sea is Now Rife With Toxic Dust and Dying Fish

science

By Natalie Zarrelli

Avoiding Regret Through Exploration

By Rachel James

Related Places

  • View inside the P-4.

    Walferdange, Luxembourg

    Raschpëtzer Qanat

    A Roman water tunnel still flows 2,000 years on.

  • The arch is visible below the surface

    Lleida, Spain

    Pont de Montiberri

    A river hides a charming medieval bridge.

  • An aerial view of the pink waters of Lake Atanasovsko.

    Nessebar, Bulgaria

    Lake Atanasovsko

    One of the world’s only pink lakes where it's possible to take a dip.

  • The never-used headgate structure at the west end of the dam.

    Bend, Oregon

    Tumalo Dam

    The ruins of a failed dam that was built over land later described as a "sponge."

  • Pedra de Lume

    Sal, Cape Verde

    Pedra de Lume

    An incredibly salty lake inside the crater of an extinct volcano.

  • The aqueduct or what remains of it.

    San Juan, Philippines

    Arko San Juan

    The only remaining section of an aqueduct that used to supply water to Manila during the Spanish occupation.

  • Ilha Grande, Brazil

    Ruins of the Ilha Grande Aqueduct

    The ruins of a 19th-century aqueduct run through this Brazilian island's deep forest.

  • Bullicame

    Viterbo, Italy

    Thermal Springs of Viterbo

    For centuries, this town's hot springs have been embraced by rich and poor—and even by Popes.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.