Salton Sea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Salton Sea | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Southern California, United States |
| Coordinates | |
| Lake type | saline, endorheic |
| Primary sources | New, Whitewater, and Alamo rivers |
| Basin countries | United States, Mexico |
| Surface area | 376 sq mi (974 km²) |
| Max depth | 51 ft (15½ m) |
| Water volume | 9.3 km³ |
| Surface elevation | -220 ft (-65 m) |
| Settlements | Desert Beach, Desert Shores, Salton Sea Beach, Salton City, Bombay Beach |
The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake, occupying the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink, part of the larger Colorado Desert in Southern California, north of the Imperial Valley. The lake covers a surface area of approximately 376 square miles (974 km²), making it the largest lake in California. It varies in dimensions and area due to changes in agricultural runoff and rain. It averages 15 by 35 miles (24 by 56 km). Its maximum depth is 51 feet (15½ m) and its total volume is about 7.5 million acre-feet (9.3 km³). Sea inflow averages 1.36 million acre-feet per year (53.2 m³/s).
The Salton Sea falls within the territories of both Riverside County and Imperial County. Like Death Valley, it is located below sea level, with the current surface of the Sea at about 220 ft (65 m) below sea level. The deepest point in the Sea is only 5 feet higher than the lowest point in Death Valley. The Sea is fed by the New, Whitewater, and Alamo rivers, as well as a number of minor agricultural drainage paths and creeks.
Contents |
[edit] History
Once part of the vast inland sea which covered the area, the endorheic Salton Sink was the site of a major salt mining operation. Throughout the Spanish period of California's history the area was referred to as the 'Colorado Desert' after the Rio Colorado (Colorado River) - 'red colored river'. In the 1853/55 railroad survey, it was called 'The Valley of the Ancient Lake'. On several old maps from the Library of Congress, it has been found labeled 'Cahuilla Valley' (after the local Indian tribe) and 'Cabazon Valley' (after a local Indian chief - Chief Cabazon). 'Salt Creek' first shows up on a map in 1867 and 'Salton Station' is on a railroad map from 1900 although this place had been there as a rail stop since the late 1870s. The name 'Salton' appears to be from the fact that they had been mining salt in the area at least as early as 1815. A yearly expedition traveled to the area to mine salt for Los Angeles residents. With the extension of a rail line through the basin, large scale salt mining started in 1884. After that, the general area is referred to as the 'Salton Sink' or the 'Salton Basin'. ‘Sink’ or ‘basin’ referring to the natural bowl type geography of the area.
[edit] Creation of the current Salton Sea
The Salton Sea as it exists today is the aftermath of a man-made environmental disaster that occurred between 1905 and 1907, when improper management of irrigation routes from the Colorado River caused the river to flow unchecked into the Salton Sink for some two years.
Early efforts to provide irrigation to the fertile Imperial Valley region had culminated in the creation of the Imperial Canal, leading from intakes on the Colorado River to the below-sea-level Imperial Valley. As this waterway became blocked by the heavy load of silt deposited by the river, the California Development Company, which was responsible for the irrigation system, decided to build a diversion channel on Mexican territory, out of reach of the then-new U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. However, the ill-advised new route crossed unstable river delta that was regularly reshaped during floods of the Colorado, and the CDC did not have the funds necessary to construct a proper headgate system at the intake from the Colorado river to prevent accidents if the river flooded.
In 1905, massive flooding of some 150,000 cfs on the Colorado overran the diversion channel and diverted the river into the Salton Sink. Cutback erosion of the soft soil in the channel deepened it and created a steadily-growing waterfall that worked its way back towards the location of the river intake, with the falls at one point reaching 100 feet in height. Scientists worried that if the cutback reached the river itself, the river would be permanently diverted into the Salton Sink, and the cutback might even continue up through Yuma, Arizona. The Southern Pacific Railroad, which had substantial business interests in the region, spent some three million dollars (under intense government pressure) over two years to stop the river's flow into the Salton Sink. In 1907 these efforts finally succeeded, and the river resumed its natural course towards the Gulf of California.
The residual water from this ecological catastrophe formed the Salton Sea of today, and continuing man-made agricultural runoff has been largely responsible for sustaining it. This event also created the New River and Alamo River. As the basin filled, the town of Salton, a Southern Pacific Railroad siding and parts of the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation land were submerged.
The Salton Sea disaster was a significant part of the impetus behind the construction of dams on the Colorado River, notably Hoover Dam. One purpose of the dams was to help prevent the type of unchecked flooding that had nearly destroyed the Imperial Valley.
The Salton Sink has held significant bodies of water at various points in the past. For example, there is scientific evidence that 300 years ago a short-lived body of water, called Lake Cahuilla, existed in the valley. The area was also briefly flooded in 1891, but all of those bodies of water eventually disappeared through evaporation. The Salton Sea, on the other hand, is constantly replenished by more than one million acre-feet (1.2 km³) of runoff water from surrounding irrigated farming communities, sustaining its water level.
[edit] Subsequent evolution of the Sea
In the 1920s, the Salton Sea developed into a tourist attraction, because of its water recreation, and the waterfowl attracted to the area. The Salton Sea remains a major resource for migrating and wading birds. It has also had some success as a fishery in the past, with species such as mullet, corvina, sargo, and tilapia being introduced to the Sea from the 1930s to the 1950s. Since then, increased salinity, pollution, and weather events have killed off most fish species other than the adaptable and hardy tilapia.
The Salton Sea has had some success as a resort area, with Salton City, Salton Sea Beach, and Desert Shores being built on the western shore and Desert Beach, North Shore, and Bombay Beach built on the eastern shore in the 1950s. The town of Niland is located 2 miles (3 km) southeast of the Sea as well. The evidence of geothermal activity is also visible. There are mud pots and mud volcanoes on the eastern side of the Salton Sea.
The lack of an outflow means that the Salton Sea is a system of accelerated change. Furthermore, variations in agricultural runoff cause fluctuations in water level (and flooding of surrounding communities in the 1950s and 1960s), and the relatively high salinity of the inflow feeding the Sea has resulted in an ever increasing level of salinity. By the 1960s, it was becoming apparent that the salinity of the Salton Sea was continuing to rise, jeopardizing some of the species living in it. The Salton Sea currently has a salinity exceeding 40‰ (parts per thousand), making it saltier than ocean water, and many species of fish are no longer able to survive in the Salton. It is believed that once the salinity surpasses 44‰, only the tilapia will be able to survive. Fertilizer runoff combined with the increasing salinity and inflow of highly polluted water from the northward-flowing New River have resulted in large algal blooms and elevated bacteria levels. The New River is considered to be the single most polluted river in America.
The high level of bacteria resulting from fish die-offs are a major threat to the avian population. In 1992 and 1996 large scale die-offs of grebes and pelicans occurred, demonstrating the unstable nature of the ecosystem.
High levels of selenium have also been found in the Sea and are thought to contribute to mortality and birth defect problems in the local bird populations. In 1997, investigators researching the death of fish discovered a parasite dinoflagellate known as Amyloodinium ocellatum in 22 of 23 dead fish. Algal blooms also lead to massive die-offs of the fish population due to oxygen starvation. There are often thousands of dead fish, mostly tilapia, lining the shore.
Many efforts, both governmental and grassroots, have arisen to find a solution for the pollution and salinity problems of the Sea. Without further human intervention, both the Salton Sea and the animal populations using it are threatened. Plans for large desalination plants, evaporation ponds, outlet pipelines to the ocean, and causeways dividing the lake into portions have been investigated as possible solutions.
Much of the current interest in the sea was spearheaded in the 1990s by the late Congressman Sonny Bono. His widow, Mary, was elected to fill his seat and has continued the fight, as has Representative Jerry Lewis (not the entertainer of the same name) of Redlands.
The increasing salinity, algae, and bacteria levels have taken their toll on tourism, and many of the Salton Sea resorts are now closed and abandoned. Before recent water control measures were implemented, the Salton Sea's surface tended to rise and fall severely, causing flooding problems in some of the surrounding communities. The area still draws over 150,000 vacationers a year, primarily to the local campsites, trailer parks, and the Salton Sea State Recreation Area.
The future of the Salton Sea is unclear, as intervention is required to manage the increasingly unstable system. Such intervention would require massive policy and financial commitments from the state and federal governments. The growth of San Diego, and its willingness to pay high prices for water, entices water districts to sell their water rather than dedicate it to agricultural purposes. As the Salton Sea is nearly completely dependent on agricultural water runoff, the lake is highly dependent on the path of water politics in the coming years.
[edit] Bird use at the Salton Sea
The Salton Sea has been termed a "crown jewel of avian biodiversity" (Dr. Milt Friend, Salton Sea Science Office). Over 400 species have been documented at the Salton Sea. Amazingly, the Salton Sea supports 30% of the remaining population of the American White Pelican. [1] The Salton Sea is a major resting stop on the Pacific Flyway. The sea's rising salinity threatens to eliminate the habitat value for fish-eating birds, such as pelicans. Without restoration actions, the sea will also eventually fail to support the microorganisms necessary to support the many shorebirds that depend on the Salton Sea. Recently, a Ross's Gull, an Arctic bird, was sighted and photographed there.
[edit] Saving the Salton Sea
[edit] Past efforts and Proposals for a Sea Level Canal
Alternatives for "saving the Salton Sea" have been evaluated since the 1950s. Early concepts included costly "pipe in/pipe out" options, which would import lower salinity seawater from the Gulf of California or Pacific Ocean and export higher salinity Salton Sea water; evaporation ponds that would serve as a salt sink, and large dam structures that would partition the sea into a marine lake portion and a brine salt sink portion. Others advocate building a sea-level canal to the Salton Sea from the Gulf of California. Given that the Sea is over 200 feet below sea level, a sea level canal would allow thousands of tons of lower salinity sea water to flow into the Sea without costly pumping or pipelines. Such a canal could be built large enough for recreational use and by ocean going vessels. A sea level canal would promote dual purposes as an inland port for Southern California and also serve as a recreational/environmental asset along its course for humans and wildlife in Mexico and the U.S. A sea level canal would also likely provide a way to regulate the shoreline of the Sea in a predictable manner.
In the late 1990s, the Salton Sea Authority, a local joint powers agency, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, spearheaded efforts to evaluate and develop an alternative to save the Salton Sea. A Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement, which did not specify a preferred alternative, was released for public review in 2000.
Since that time, the Salton Sea Authority has developed a preferred concept [2] that involves the construction of a large dam that would impound water to create a marine sea in the northern and southern parts of the sea and along the western edge. The plan has been subject to some criticism for failing to properly address ecosystem needs, and for engineering practicality concerns such as local faulting, potentially devastating to such a plan.
Criticisms of the preferred plan issued by the Salton Sea Authority included:
- Construction failure when identified 200 feet of sediments fail to hold up the rock structures placed on top of them.
- Geological catastrophe when a major earthquake hits the nearby San Andreas Fault (feet away from the east end of the dike).
- Physical catastrophic failure as water is depleted from the south pond and water pressure pushes across the north pond against the soft sedimentary underlayment.
- Possible catastrophic failure by water blowing under the dike as water from the higher north pond etches its way under the dike.
- Massive alkali storms blowing across the area destroying crops from the south basin [3] exposing dried salt sediments resulting in crop damage and increased respiratory problems.
Many other concepts have been proposed [4], including piping water from the Sea to a wetland in Mexico, Laguna Salada (Mexico), as a means of salt export, and one by Aqua Genesis Ltd to bring in sea water from the Gulf of California, desalinate it at the Sea using available geothermal heat, and selling the water to pay for the plan. [3] This concept [5] would involve the construction of over 20 miles (30 km) of pipes and tunneling, however, with the increasing demand for water at the coastline would provide an additional 1,000,000 acre feet (1.2 km³) of water to Southern California coastal cities each year, according to SDSU Professor Ronald A. Newcomb, SDSU College of Sciences, Center for Advanced Water Technologies.
[edit] Current state restoration process
The California State Legislature, by legislation enacted in 2003 and 2004 (SB 277 [6], SB 317 [7], SB 654 [8]and SB 1214 [9]), directed the Secretary of the California Resources Agency to prepare a restoration plan for the Salton Sea ecosystem, and an accompanying Environmental Impact Report. As part of this effort, which is based on State legislation enacted in 2003 and 2004, the Secretary for Resources has established an Advisory Committee to provide recommendations to assist in the preparation of the Ecosystem Restoration Plan, including consultation throughout all stages of the alternative selection process. The California Department of Water Resources and California Department of Fish and Game are leading the effort to develop a preferred alternative for the restoration of the Salton Sea ecosystem and the protection of wildlife dependent on that ecosystem. The Secretary of Resources is required to submit a report to the legislature, including a preferred alternative, by December 31, 2006.
[edit] Media attention
The 2006 documentary film Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea (narrated by John Waters) documented the lives of the inhabitants of Bombay Beach, Niland, and Salton City, as well as the ecological issues associated with the Sea.
The cover of Linkin Park's newest album Minutes to Midnight is a photo of the six bandmembers with the Salton Sea in the background. The video for Divine Heresy's single "Failed Creation" was also filmed there.[1]
The film "The Monster that Challenged the World" (1957) was shot in and around The Salton Sea: [10]
The lake also appears in the 2002 movie The Salton Sea with Val Kilmer.
The film "Highway Dragnet" (1954) has a final sequence that takes place at The Salton Sea: [11]
[edit] References
- Stevens, Joseph E. Hoover Dam. University of Oklahoma Press, 1988. (Extensive details on the Salton Sea disaster.)
- Metzler, Chris and Springer, Jeff - "Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea" Tilapia Film, [2006] - Thorough history of the first 100 years at the Salton Sea and the prospects for the future.
- ^ "Divine Heresy Holding Their Breath For Vomit Footage", Mtv News, 2007-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
[edit] Additional photos
 Dead Tilapia |
 Near Obsidian Butte |
 Where the New River enters the Salton Sea |
 Abandoned Buildings |
 Sign on the west shore |
 More ruins on the east shore |
 Sunset in Salton Sea |
 White Pelicans on the North Coast |
 Field of mud volcanoes. |
 View from Mecca Beach |
[edit] External links
- Documentary - "Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea" - narrated by John Waters
- Salton Sea Authority
- Salton Basin chronology
- Salton Basin overview
- Salton Sea overview
- Salton Sea data and other resources
- Salton Sea Portal at the Digital Universe
- US Bureau of Reclamation's Salton Sea Restoration Project Office
- National Geographic photos of the Salton Sea
- Geothermal energy generation in Imperial Valley
- Calexico New River Committee, New River Tributary
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Dams and aqueducts (see US Bureau of Reclamation) |
|
| Natural features |
Colorado River • Rocky Mountains • Colorado River Basin • Grand Lake • Sonoran Desert • Mojave Desert • Imperial Valley • Colorado Plateau • Grand Canyon • Black Canyon • Glen Canyon • Marble Canyon • New River • Paria Canyon • Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez • Salton Sea |
| Tributaries | |
| Major reservoirs | |
| Dependent states |
Arizona • California • Colorado • Nevada • New Mexico • Utah (See: Colorado River Compact) |
| Designated areas | |
Categories: Environmental disasters in the United States | Depressions | Dry areas below sea level | Endorheic lakes | Engineering failures | Geography of the Colorado Desert | Imperial County, California | Lakes of California | Riverside County, California | Saline lakes | Shrunken lakes | Regions of California | Disasters in California
