Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial and Coachella Valleys. In 1900, the California Development Company began construction of irrigation canals to divert water from the Colorado River into the Salton Sink, a dry lake bed. After construction of these irrigation canals, the Salton Sink became fertile for a time, allowing farmers to plant crops. As the basin filled with silt, the town of Salton, a Southern Pacific Railroad siding, and Torres-Martinez Native American land were submerged. The sudden influx of water and the lack of any drainage from the basin resulted in the formation of the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea had some success as a resort area in the 1950s, but many of the settlements substantially shrank in size, or have been abandoned completely, mostly due to the increasing salinity and pollution of the lake over the years from agricultural runoff.