Salton Sea, Imperial County, CA

The Salton Sea is a man-made monstrosity of 318 square miles sitting in the desert of Imperial and Riverside County, California. It was formed in 1905 when part of the Colorado River was diverted for irrigation. Landlocked, it has remained a sea to the present due to contaminated agricultural runoff and water from surrounding rivers. But it is an ecological disaster. Scientists in the 1970s warned of impending disaster, but in the 1950s and 1960s it was a thriving resort area, with the likes of the Beach Boys and Frank Sinatra performing at night clubs, birdwatching, and fisherman catching tilapia and other sports fish in the well stocked sea. Then in the 1980s, the sea began to shrink, getting saltier and exposing toxic dust in dry beds. A hazardous haze floated over the valley, and fish and birds died in droves, their carcasses littering the beaches. And an odor, like rotten eggs, hung in the air. Understandably, the resort crowds fled. The resorts are now ghost towns, themselves a curiousity for "weird California" tourists. Meanwhile, millions have been spent to study the disaster and provide some small remediation, but the state has not fixed the problem. Easier to turn a blind eye and let unfold what may.

The day we visited there was a slight odor, mostly of salt. But the sea itself has a lovely blue color from a distance, with dark mountains framing it.

Up close, you see how murky it is, with algal blooms from agricultural fertilizers and the crust of dried salt.

In fact, the Salton Sea is saltier than the ocean, and just getting saltier. It is not yet as salty as the Dead Sea, but it's moving in that direction. If it does get there, perhaps it will be a new tourist destination as tourists float in the brine. Fish in the sea have been reduced 97% and the only fish that seem to survive the salt is the desert pupfish. A few birds still bob in the water.

We chose to off road to an abandoned naval military base. It was used during WWII as a training and practice area. Float planes landed on the Salton Sea, and you can still see what looks like the scaffolding of a target in the water. Getting to the base requires traveling over a sand dune, a reminder that you are solidly in a desert.

All that is left of the base are pylons, the skeleton of a dry dock, a bomb shelter, a control tower, and maybe some unexploded ordnances. (Don't worry, none exploded during our visit.) The base has now reverted to state control, with some bone dry evaporation ponds and chain link fences.

Samuel flew his drone over the sea, but it is so vast (15 by 35 miles at its widest and longest), that the drone battery ran low before it could cross to the other side. Still enough battery however to take a shot of the family before heading east to Salvation Mountain.