Adventure & Exploration: February 2008 Archives

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!