Just How Salty Is the Salton Sea in California?

Though the Salton Sea is the biggest lake in California, it isn’t well known to most tourists. How did such a big body of water end up in the desert, and just how salty is the Salton Sea in California? We’ll take a closer look now.

What Is the Salton Sea?

The Salton Sea is a large salty body of water in Southern California with no outflow. This means that it’s a terminal sea. Its location has been the spot for an inland sea for thousands of years, though it has been immensely larger and smaller than it is today.

The Salton Sea was originally named Lake Cahuilla. Around 1500 CE, the lake was over 25 times larger than it is today.

By 1774, the Salton Sink was completely dry and void of accumulated water. Later, periodic floods caused some water to remain in the area. This flooding was the natural result of floodwaters from the Colorado River.

The Salton Sea was last filled by the Colorado River in 1905. This is also when it was named the Salton Sea. A canal gate busted that year which allowed water to flood into the Salton Sink, and the Salton Sea has been there ever since.

Where Is the Salton Sea?

The Salton Sea is in the Salton Sink which straddles the border between Riverside and Imperial Counties in Southern California’s desert. The sea is in both the Coachella and Imperial Valleys. It currently sits at about negative 232 degrees in elevation.

Just How Salty Is the Salton Sea in California?

The Salton Sea has a salt concentration of about sixty parts per thousand. To draw a comparison, the Pacific Ocean has a salinity of about thirty-five parts per thousand. The salt concentration within the Salton Sea increases every year as water continues to enter the sink and evaporate.

Why Is the Salton Sea So Salty?

The Salton Sea is so salty because it has no natural outlet. Any water that enters the lake sits in the lake until it evaporates.

Approximately 4 million tons of salt enter the Salton Sea each year. The lack of drainage from the area means the salt sits in place as the water evaporates which gives the lake its extreme salinity.

Today, the water in the Salton Sea maintains its levels through the runoff and drainage from agriculture in the Coachella and Imperial Valleys. At least 75 percent of the inflow into the Salton Sea annually is a direct result of farmland drainage.

Since the Colorado River water used in these agricultural areas is naturally too salty for productive plant growth, farmers overwater their crops so that excess salt is leached through the soil and becomes runoff. This salty wastewater drains into the Salton Sea.

How Big Is the Salton Sea in California?

The Salton Sea is the biggest lake in California. It is also the third biggest saltwater lake in North America.

The Salton Sea currently holds about 7.5 million acre-feet of water. Every year, about 1.3 million acre-feet of water evaporates from the lake. The sea has a maximum depth of about 51 feet.

The Salton Sea is about thirty-five miles in length and has a width of fifteen miles. The shoreline is about 110 miles long, and the sea itself has a surface area of just over 340 square miles.

The Salton Sea is quickly shrinking and will continue to diminish in size. That’s because water from the Colorado River used for agriculture is becoming expensive and scarce. As a result, farmers have increased efficiency which produces less runoff to pool in the sea.

What Lives in California’s Salton Sea?

Birds and fish are the main lifeforms in and around the Salton Sea. Since the water is not potable, and the dust from the lake bed can be toxic, there is almost no other wildlife in the area.

Fish in the Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is an unsuitable habitat for most fish. An endangered variety of the desert pupfish that’s indigenous to the region makes its home in the salty water. Introduced tilapia still eke out an existence, though the water will soon be too salty for them.

The Salton Sea used to be stocked with fish for sport. As the salinity increased, freshwater fish were replaced with saltwater fish for lake stocking purposes.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the area became a booming resort destination. However, rising salt levels killed off almost all of the desirable fish. The area is now sparsely populated and few tourists come to the region.

Birds and the Salton Sea

The Salton Sea hosts 400 species of birds including migratory species using the Pacific Flyway each year. Though the area seems barren, the Salton Sea’s region hosts the second most diverse area for birds in North America. Its variety of bird species reliant on it is second only to the Everglades in South Florida.

Since the Salton Sea is so important to birds, its increased salinity and evaporation is a major ecological issue. If the sea becomes too salty and all of the fish die off, the birds will also die.

To conserve the Salton Sea ecosystem, efforts are underway to use solar energy as funding for ecosystem revitalization efforts. Less than 2 weeks per year see any kind of precipitation in the region, and annual rainfall totals are almost always below two and a half inches. This means that it’s a prime location for immense solar energy generation.

Is It Healthy to Live Near the Salton Sea in California?

It is sometimes unhealthy to live near the Salton Sea in California. As the water in the sea recedes due to decreased agricultural runoff and drought, more of the seabed is exposed to local winds. As dust from exposed playa is whipped up, it becomes a health hazard.

Californians living in the valleys where the Salton Sea sits have the highest rates of asthma in children in the state. Since the lake is maintained by polluted water, the lake’s sediment is toxic and causes lung disease.