How did a mistake give birth to the Salton Sea?

Salton Sea California is our main focus. Join our venture to the Salton Sea ghost town with a little bit Salton Sea history.

How did a mistake give birth to the Salton Sea?
salton sea California

If you make a mistake while doing something, don't give up, try your best. Just make sure no one realizes you're wrong. Your mistake could be something like the Salton Sea California.

The Salton Sea is a huge man-made lake. It is the largest lake in California. But in the true sense of the word, it is as it is now.

Let's start our story with California's water, especially the water scarcity of Salton Sea history. The area where the Salton Sea is currently located is very suitable for agricultural work.

The soil here is very fertile and rich. However, no matter how rich the soil is, one cannot think of agricultural work without water. So the engineers of that century arranged water irrigation to help in agricultural work.

In the early 1900s, an irrigation canal was dug from the Colorado River to the Old Alamo River Channel to supply water to the Imperial Valley for agricultural work.

The canal was dug several more times on the banks of the Colorado River to allow more water to flow when it was filled with sewage. At one time these streams flowed into the vast Salton Basin.

salton sea California

This arid lake-like region is transformed into a modern lake that is about 15 miles wide and 35 miles long or 24 kilometers wide and 56 kilometers long.

Farmers used this irrigation facility for several years to continue their agricultural work but the problem arose in 1905. Heavy rains and snowfall that year were not conducive to agricultural work.

If you remember Hurricane Katrina, you will see that it was not only caused by the storm but also by its levees which can never be stopped. Something similar happened with that irrigation canal in California.

Despite 18 months of effort, the wildlife has not been brought under control. The whole city of Salton was flooded and never rose again. The vast basin, which stretches from Southern California to Mexico, suddenly finds and joins two new rivers and a freshwater lake. Thinking that it would dry up on its own and return to normal, California allowed the lake to move at its own pace.

 

The Ultimate Mistake

The problem of the Salton Sea California might not have been so huge if the state had not used it as a dumping site for agriculture in the Imperial Valley which is used in agriculture. Excess water, waste, or nutrition is fine so far but sometimes pesticides are used in agriculture or even pathogens or salt.

The Salt Sea becomes saline very quickly. As a result, all the freshwater streams that followed the river flow into this new sea died.

Residents of California have decided that they will cultivate saltwater-loving fish in the lake, which will turn the fortunes of the city of Salton around again. Fortunately, this creates a domino effect, so migratory birds and fishermen flock to the lake and want to take advantage of this opportunity.

Soon the Salton Sea beach became an attractive place for snowboarders, retired workers, travel thirsty, and employees to spend their holidays. Resorts are built on the Salton Sea Bombay Beach of the lake and even locals come to visit here. This went on for decades, but the trouble was not over.

In the 1980s, scientists warned that the lake would continue to shrink and become a wildlife sanctuary. Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated during the 1970s due to farm contamination.

Avian human mortality rates continue to rise, especially after the fish species on which they relied became extinct. The lake water becomes much saltier and dead fish come ashore. Tourism continues to decline at a massive rate.

salton sea California

What Happened to the Salton Sea California?

After 1999, the Salton Sea in California began to shrink. Due to the widespread use of water for agricultural purposes, the water level in the lake is declining. The lake slowly dries up and toxic dust spreads to nearby settlements through the air. Los Angeles also has some of this toxic dust, and people there say they occasionally smell the lake.

Due to this behavior of nature, the Salt Sea gradually became depopulated. Humans and wildlife also leave the Salton Sea. At the United Nations University, Our World, a closed drainage basin that receives only inflows, the Salton Sea has become saltier and saltier every year. "

The Orange County Register explained the catastrophic cycle, saying hot Salton Sea weather triggers algae blooms, which die and sink to the shallow lake bottom. Winds then kick up decaying algae and the mix causes a reaction in the water that uses oxygen, "causing the fish to suffocate and die. Recently a Salton Sea movie and the Salton Sea documentary have been broadcasted regarding these incidents.

It's not just fish that are dangerous. Desert Sun says it's not safe to live here for people with respiratory problems. Due to drought and other reasons, the amount of lake is gradually decreasing and dust and pollution are increasing. As a result, asthma can occur in children here in Salton Sea California. People started to call it Salton Sea ghost town.

But it was not all over. According to KPBS, California is spending about 200 million to make it habitable and to fill the lake with about 4,000 acres of water. The Salton Sea California may not regain its former glory, but California is doing its best, as it has done before. Even Salton Sea camping is becoming very popular nowadays.