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Salton Sea - Ghost Town Lake |
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However, Salton Sea’s bright lights would quickly fade in the 1970s when
the sea’s water level began rising from several years of heavy rains and
increasing agricultural drainage. Shorefront homes, businesses, resorts,
and marinas flooded several times until the water stabilized in 1980 after
a series of conservation measures to reduce field run-off. However, for
the many resort areas, it was too late. The salt and fertilizers of the
run-off had accumulated to such a degree that they had reached toxic
levels, which began a cycle of decay. As algae fed on the toxins, it
created massive amounts of rotten smelling matter floating upon the
surface of the lake and suffocated many of the fish.
Within just a few years, the resorts had closed, the marinas were
abandoned, and those who could afford to, had moved, leaving in their
wake, abandoned businesses and homes, and scattered junk. |

Unfortunately, dead fish lay scattered on the
beaches of
the
Salton Sea due primarily to the high
saline content of
the lake, photo by Guary Nicholson
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Today,
Salton Sea
continues to maintain itself, fed by the Alamo,
Whitewater, and New Rivers, as well as continued agricultural runoff from
irrigated farmland. Covering an average surface area of about 375 miles,
it is the largest lake in
California.
But,
still the lake is in trouble. The salt in the
Salton Sea is higher than that of the Pacific Ocean and
numerous restoration plans have been developed over the years, the latest
of which proposes to reduce the size of the lake to make it more
manageable at a cost of billions of dollars and more than two decades to
complete.
The
lake is dotted with “signs” of more prosperous times and the area is much
like a "ghost lake," surrounded by small "ghost towns," "ghost resorts,"
and "ghost trailer parks."
Towns:
Bombay Beach -
Located on the east shore of the
Salton Sea, Bombay Beach was first developed by R.E. Gilliagan in October, 1929
as a private community that quickly grew with weekend visitors and
retirees. By the 1960s, the town sported numerous businesses and homes.
However, the next decade would take its toll on the community as tropical
storms and flooding destroyed parts of the town. Though this permanently
affected Bombay's development, the small town still supports about 350
people and a few open businesses amongst a sunken trailer park and
abandoned buildings. A dike now protects the west portion of of the small
community that is located just south of the
Salton Sea State Park. It is
one of the lowest elevation communities in the U.S. sitting about 225 feet
below sea level.

Bombay Beach today, photo by Eric Polk,
courtesy
Wikipedia.
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Desert Shores - This small community still supports more than 1000
people and has actually grown over the last several years. However, signs
of its resort community heydays can still be seen a few abandoned
businesses and fading billboards. One of the many communities that
developed during the sea's heydays in the 1950's, the city was bustling in
the 1960s with the Desert Shores Yacht Club, Marina Mobile Estates, a
five-fingered marina, a fishing barge just offshore, and numerous
businesses. However, in the 1970s the town was battered by a couple of
tropical storms and the rising sea level flooded many of the shoreline
resorts and homes. Desert Shores is located just
north of
Salton Sea Beach on the west
side of the sea east of
SH 86.
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Desert Shores Harbor during its heydays,
vintage 1947 postcard. |

An abondoned Desert Shores Motel today, photo
by
Guary Nicholson.
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Continued Next Page
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