090313 - The Salton Sea

The Salton Sea

March 13, 2009

After leaving “The Center Of The World”, we spent a couple of restful days in El Centro, California, which I am told means The Center in Spanish. Hmmmm.

We did some chores that had to be done, some shopping at Costco for those things they have no competition with, including gas. But Of course, we still had to stock up on groceries at Wal-Mart and while we were there it was time for an oil change and lube. They have an express lane for RVs but somehow it took them an hour and a half. No complaints though, that’s how long it took us to shop, and they did a good job of checking everything for fluid levels, tire pressure, fluid levels, etc. The weather has been comfortable at nights, no heater needed but a warm sweatshirt is comfortable, so we decided to boondock it at Wal-Mart.
The next day we set the Garmin GPS for The Salton Sea and in less than 2 hours we were there.
For those of you unfamiliar with this body of water, it is California’s version of Arizona’s Great Salt Lake. Although it is much smaller than the Great Salt Lake, it is the largest lake in California and the salt content is higher than the Pacific Ocean.

History tells us that there had been a basin here for thousands of years caused by the motion of two earthquake faults on either side and it was called the Salton Sink. It had been initially flooded by water from the Gulf of California, which is where the initial salt came from.

Over thousands of years it has drained and filled many times and became a land locked portion of the Gulf. Flooding from the Colorado River has filled it often until the river changed its course. For long stretches of time it has been just a dry salt bed because the evaporation process triumphed over the minimal rainfall.

As One of the world’s largest inland seas, The Salton Sea as we know it today was created by accident when a dike broke during the construction of the All-American Canal in 1905. The resulting 360-square-mile basin became today’s Salton Sea State Recreation Area. It provides a unique desert oasis for boaters, water-skiers and anglers.

It is actually about 227 feet below sea level and seems to have stabilized at that. Most of its water supply now is from agriculture run offs since rain only accounts for about 3 inches a year in the southern California south west desert. A government study resulted in The Salton Sea Restoration Act, which was spearheaded by Congressman Sonny Bono, and a southern area of the lake is dedicated to him known as the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Reserve. In the winter months, millions of birds … over 400 species use the Sea as a stop over in their migration to other areas.

We spent a quiet and peaceful week here, watching people actually catch fish from the shore. Peter thought it looked like fun and a great way to get some free fish to eat, but we couldn’t find a rod and reel he could handle and then there was the matter of a fishing license. He refused to pay for one. The weather was warm and sunny and the sunsets were beautiful. From here we are heading to Indio, but will take a detour to Niland to search for Salvation Mountain.

Till next time,