The Allure of the Salton Sea

What is the Salton Sea? Or, rather, where is the Salton Sea? In this series I'll present a brief retelling of the history and tragedy behind one of California's most infamous disasters and why I draw so much inspiration from it.

The Salton Sea was created by sheer accident in the California Desert around 1905 or so - some dams holding back the Colorado River broke and millions of gallons began rushing towards the lowest ground, which happened to be the Salton Basin. Stories say that an entire city was wiped out, along with lines of rail and an unfortunate train or two. I don't know how much of this is true, but it's neat to think about a Lost City under there, or sunken rail cars containing unspeakable horrors, forever shut away from the world. A bit Lovecraftian, perhaps, but imagine the incredible mystery!

The Salton Sea was a popular vacation destination

The Sea is about 220 ft below sea level and around 35 miles long and 15 miles wide - it's a good sized body of water, and during the 1950's some people thought it could be put to good use (i.e. turn a profit). Billed as "The Salton Riviera," it was a desert oasis, the perfect place to sunbathe and go boating during the terribly cold California winter. Due to it's incredible salinity, many speed boats set world records, and the Salton City 500 was a popular race.

A Champagne Flight - how classy!

All seemed well and good, with miles of new road paved, power lines and water pipes laid, and luxurious Yacht Clubs built for exorbitant sums (The North Shore Yacht club alone cost around $2 million in 1960).