Salton Sea

Epic card · No. 14448

The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline endorheic lake in Riverside and Imperial counties in Southern California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough, which stretches to the Gulf of California in Mexico. The lake is about 15 by 35 miles (24 by 56 km) at its widest and longest. A 2023 report put the surface area at 318 square miles (823.6 km2). The Salton Sea became a resort destination in the 20th century, but saw die-offs of fish and birds in the 1980s due to contamination from farm runoff, and clouds of toxic dust in the 21st century as evaporation exposed parts of the lake bed. Over millions of years, the Colorado River flowed through or near the Imperial Valley, depositing rich alluvial soil which created fertile farmland and built terrain. As its course changed over time, the river alternately flowed into the valley or diverted around it, creating either a salt lake called Lake Cahuilla or a dry desert basin. When the river diverted around the valley...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain