Salton Sea SRA
This place is also dichotomous. There is so much beauty while at the same time atrophy and death. We have learned the basin that contains the Salton Sea was once part of the Gulf of California, aka, the Sea of Cortez. Changes in the topography separated the two; this basin has no outflow and less inflow than evaporates. As the salty sea water evaporated, large deposits of salt remained. Later, fresh water flooded the basin. The water had high salinity, but many species of fish thrived. The Salton Sea, the largest lake in California, is 220′ below sea level. It was a very popular resort area for fishermen and other water sports.
Slowly shrinking, the salinity has increased to the point that Tilapia are the only fish able to survive; even they die off when the water temperatures drop below 55F. As a result. the waterfowl are further challenged. The Sea is a resting spot during the winter for migrating birds as they move south in the fall and north in the spring. Over 85% of California’s wetlands are drained or repurposed, so the birds are under great stress. This year there is only a small fraction of the thousands of birds that normally stop here.
