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 a popular vacation destination
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).
The Salton Bay Yacht Club in Salton City
The Sea even has its very own Glamour Capitol
The North Shore Motel & Yacht Club in North Shore
A Champagne Flight - how classy!
The Salton Bay Yacht Club in Salton City
The Sea even has its very own Glamour Capitol
The North Shore Motel & Yacht Club in North Shore
Great write up here! This place is deff something else. Check out the link of our previous trip out there.