The Salton Sea in Photos

Description

Photos of the Salton Sea and surrounding areas.

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Map showing location of the Salton Sea within California.

Salton Sea CA Map

The Salton Sea is located in the far southeast of California, in Imperial and Riverside counties.

Map showing the location of the Salton Sea within Southern California

Salton Sea SoCal Map

The Salton Sea is located in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys, about two hours from the coast.

North Shore of the Salton Sea

This is a view of the Salton Sea from the North Shore Yacht and Beach Club.

North Shore Community Park

This park is located in the unincorporated community of North Shore at the northern end of the Salton Sea. Before this park was built, there were no other parks in North Shore.

West Shore of the Salton Sea

This is a photo of the west shore of the Salton Sea, taken from Salton City. You can see algae growing on the edge of the water.

Lithium extraction site run by CTR

CTR Lithium Extraction Site

The lithium reserves at the southern end of the Salton Sea have attracted a lot of attention because of their value for electric vehicles. This is a pilot site for lithium extraction. The company that owns it is building a larger facility that can extract more lithium.

John L. Featherstone Geothermal Plant

In addition to the lithium plants being constructed, there are a number of existing geothermal plants. These plants generate energy from superheated brine pumped up from two miles underground.

Brandt Cattle Company

One of Imperial County's major industries is cattle. This is the entrance to a large cattle feed lot.

The front entrance to CCV's Brawley office.

CCV Offices

The Comite Civico del Valle has been working in Imperial County for almost forty years.

Three electric vehicle chargers in front of the CCV offices in Brawley, CA.

CCV EV Chargers

The only EV chargers in Imperial County are located outside of Comite Civico del Valle's offices in Brawley. Getting EV chargers is a big issue for CCV, especially because lithium extracted from the Imperial Valley will power electric vehicles.

Welcome to Bombay Beach

This sign welcomes visitors to Bombay Beach. The community used to be a popular vacation destination, but people stopped coming as the lake became more toxic. Now that there is little tourism, there are few residents and few services.

Hay bales on the shore of the Salton Sea in Bombay Beach

Bombay Beach Hay Bales

Several sections of the Salton Sea's shoreline are covered with hay bales. These hay bales are intended to reduce the amount of toxic dust that blows off the shore and to help establish plants as a long-term solution to dust.

El Centro COVID Memorial

Imperial County had one of the highest death rates from COVID in the state. This mural, located in El Centro, memorializes those who died from COVID.

New River at Calexico

The New River, which crosses the border between the US and Mexico at Calexico in Imperial County, is one of the most polluted rivers of its size in the country.

License

All rights reserved.

Contributors

Created date

April 27, 2023

Cite as

Margaret Tebbe. 27 April 2023, "The Salton Sea in Photos", Disaster STS Network, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 4 September 2024, accessed 3 December 2024. http://465538.bc062.asia/content/salton-sea-photos