Salton Sea

Yesterday Sami and I (with some help) visited the Salton Sea. Geologicallly, the Salton Sea is a landlocked extension of the Gulf of California. In recent history, it was a dry salt bed until 1905 when a levee along the Colorado River in Mexico was breeched (This was before "Hoover" and others dams were built) and flooded the basin. A lake 15 miles wide and 25 miles long formed, making it the largest lake in California. The surface of the lake is 227 feet below sea level. Since there is no outlet from the lake, any water that flows into it simply evaorates. Currently the lake is 30 percent saltier than the Pacific Ocean and threatens over 400 species of birds that migrate to the lake. There are still various species of fish in the lake, but Tilapia are the most abudant and have no legal limits.
In the top photo, you can see the Salton Sea behind me and beyond the sea in the background is Mt. San Jacinto, west of Palm Springs.
In the bottom photo, Sami and I are resting at the Visitors Center.
Warmest regards, Gus