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I can imagine that during the early 60's there was a rivalry stirring amongst the tranquil waves of the Salton Sea. In the Southwest, as part of the Holly Corporation's development of Salton City, a championship golf course was built, and the crown jewel of the city was the Salton Bay Yacht Club. The Salton City 500, a speed boat race, attracted many visitors, including some from Hollywood. In the Northeast, the lavish North Shore Yacht Club & Estates opened at a cost of approximately 2 million in 1960, home of the largest marina in Southern California at the time. There was also a luxury seafront motel, and North Shore became known as the "Glamour Capitol of Salton Sea." With two new cities each trying to outdo the other in terms of attractions on opposite sides of the shore, the Salton Sea was poised to become Southern California's next premier vacation spot. With the dedication of the Salton Sea State Park only a few years earlier, the Sea was a land of opportunity for real estate and recreation. What went wrong?

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!