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As someone with more than a passing interest in ghost towns, abandoned buildings and the apocalypse, the Salton Sea has long been high on my must-visit list. This week I finally had the chance to make the three-hour drive from LA, and my morbid curiosity was not disappointed.
The Salton Sea is the largest inland body of water in California, and easily its most toxic. Once a haven for tourists, fishermen and boaters — in the 1950s it was touted as “the American Riviera” — years of polluted runoff from agricultural and industrial sites, not to mention untold amounts of untreated sewage from Mexico, pumped into the sea via one of America’s dirtiest waterways, the Northward-flowing New River, have turned the Salton into a truly foul place.
At one time the Salton Sea was among the state’s most productive fisheries. (During WWII, when German submarines made ocean fishing dangerous, most of Southern California’s fish were harvested in the Salton.) But steadily increasing levels of toxins, algae, salt and bacteria led to a number of massive die-offs — the largest, in 1999, killed 7.6 million fish — and its once-thriving population of migratory birds are sickened each year with selenium and botulism poisoning. The Sea is 25% saltier than the ocean and getting saltier every year, and despite some residents’ claims that its tea-colored waters can “heal your skin,” coming into contact with the Salton or eating anything that comes out of it are heartily discouraged.
In the 1960s, there were a half-dozen booming beach towns along the Sea’s 80-mile coastline. That was before the days when dead fish littered the beaches — the “sand” along the water’s edge nothing more than the crushed-and-rounded bones from millions of fish skeletons — and before the death-and-decay stench of the Salton in the 110-degree heat of summer became unbearable. Flooding in the 1970s buried beachfront structures in several feet of salted mud, hastening people’s departure from the area. These days, the beachfront is a post-apocalyptic wasteland of houses, trailers and boarded-up beach clubs slowly sinking into the toxic mud.
Usually when I go to broken-down places like this, there are suspicious people lurking on the margins, wondering what I’m doing poking around with a camera. There was no one in these little towns — though some of the homes looked occupied, there was no one outside, no one walking the streets, and certainly no one on the beach. We saw more border patrol agents than anyone, as the southern end of the Sea is just a short drive from the Mexican border.
The graffiti on this house reads “The Hills Have Eyes.” (Click on it, or any of these pictures, for a larger size.) Further reinforcing my feeling that this is not somewhere I’d want to hang around after dark.
Just outside the Salton-adjacent hamlet of Niland, there rises a strange, brightly-painted, man-made hill called Salvation Mountain. It’s a pastel shock to the system after hours of brown and gray — an enormous adobe structure covered in 100,000 gallons of paint, all made by one man, Leonard Knight, over the course of 25 years. Salvation Mountain is an amazing place that deserves its own post — I’ll do one soon — but suffice to say that it was the ultimate cap on a very surreal journey.
On the outskirts of Salvation Mountain: lacking a proper river for his boat, Leonard painted his own.
Other “Strange Geographies”
East LA’s Abandoned Hospital
My Town’s Aborted Suburb
Comments (49)
Comment
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I have been to Niland, CA, it is truely a unique place. From the site I was working on you could plainly see Salvation Mountain, which sits on the edge of Slab City. Slab City is yet another unique establishment, as is it entirely anti-establishment and is inhabited by mostly nomadic people who wish to live off the grid.
I spent roughly two weeks in Niland on a power plant job just 1/2 mile east of the city. The people I observed walking from slab city into town were very peculiar, as was the constant police traffic heading into Slab City.
posted by Rob Van on 6-18-2009 at 11:51 am
stunning!
posted by Mangesh Hattikudur on 6-18-2009 at 12:44 pm
Honestly…that is absolutely beautiful. It’s such a great twist on the wild wild west ghost town…
posted by Amalala on 6-18-2009 at 12:57 pm
I actually spent 3 nights sleeping in a VW van on the shores of the Salton. The days were absolutely miserable! The days get so hot that fish die from the temperature of the water, and wash ashore in droves, attracting swarms of flies which cover everything in a buzzing blanket (think: beard made of bees and you’ll get the idea!)
The evenings weren’t so bad, as it would cool off, but I certainly will never return. Once was a must (I share in a curiosity for abandonded towns) but once was enough!
Thanks for the trip down misery lane.
posted by Fredd in Harlem on 6-18-2009 at 1:14 pm
Huzzah! This is quite amazing! A fabulous twist on the ghost towns of the wild wild west….
posted by Amalala on 6-18-2009 at 1:40 pm
Very interesting. I’m going to have to look this place up so I can see pictures of what it used to be.
posted by k on 6-18-2009 at 1:48 pm
There was a Val Kilmer movie a few years ago called “The Salton Sea” that (fairly obviously) took place in this area. It’s primarily about drug dealing and was fairly disturbing as I recall.
posted by Bryan on 6-18-2009 at 1:49 pm
Amazing pics. Surreal would be a good way to describe it.
posted by Chellis on 6-18-2009 at 1:54 pm
i love these photos, and the accompanying write up. what a crazy place and you’ve captured its dirtybeauty so nicely.
posted by Abeer on 6-18-2009 at 2:05 pm
Great post! Salton Sea is on my top list of SoCal exploring. I’ve been spending some time in Lake Elsinore and learning about the local geography. One place that piques my interest is an abandoned house on top of a hill off I-15 and Main St. It’s boarded up but looks to have beautiful Spanish style architecture and occupies quite a nice piece of land. I’ve never gone up there but I will some day. Some of the locals say that it was an old flapper house with tunnels leading underground to who knows where. I’d recommend checking out the area because other people have mentioned Aimee’s Castle, the Chimes and an old Naval academy as being haunted and good old fashioned fun exploring!
posted by Zenji on 6-18-2009 at 2:23 pm
Cool post. Strange detail: America doesn’t have many north-flowing rivers, but those it does have often seemed to be named New. I grew up on the clean and lovely north-flowing New River in southwest Virginia (ironically named because it happens to be one of the oldest rivers on earth, apparently).
posted by Southern Buddhist on 6-18-2009 at 4:34 pm
Salvation Mountain is also considered an extremely toxic site and somehow has managed to stay open even after numerous attempts by the local government to shut it down. The amount of paint used just adds to problems of the area – hardly a worthy “salvation”. The goofball behind it should be fined rather than regaled for his “art”. You can read more about it in the book ‘Weird U.S.’ by Moran and Sceurman.
posted by Adam on 6-18-2009 at 8:48 pm
Amazing story! Great photos. Definitely intrigued me. Glad someone threw this into Stumble, I was happy to pass it along!
posted by Clint on 6-19-2009 at 12:08 am
Some info listed towards the top of this post seems to be incorrect ~ I watched the documentary “Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea” and a US park ranger said there has never been untreated sewage from Mexico (one of many myths). Its a sad story really, water run-off has been diverted to San Diego so there is no new water to replenish the Sea which is harming the many birds who go there . . .
posted by Lindy on 6-19-2009 at 12:37 am
You should check out a documentary called Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea (narrated by John Waters). It goes into detail on the history and the current issues the area is facing. It is an EXCELLENT film! There was also a California’s Gold episode (So Cal PBS) that explored some areas there were they’ve got bubbling mud pots. Neat!
posted by JenDiggity on 6-19-2009 at 1:42 am
The Salton Sea is a relatively new feature, geographically speaking — it was created by floodwaters of the Colorado River breaching a dike back in the early 1900s. So it was weird even to begin with….
posted by VM on 6-19-2009 at 3:30 am
The pictures accompanying this post are wonderful and the story itself is fascinating and makes me want to learn more. Great job, Ransom!
posted by nikki on 6-19-2009 at 8:34 am
I guess we know what pollution will do to this planet. It’s a world wide problem but we can’t make Mexico clean up their act any more than we can make China or other nations unless we lead by example.
California is a beautiful state I guess I never realized that the Salton Sea was such a disaster.
posted by Vaughan on 6-19-2009 at 9:00 am
I live near Palm Springs, and I was told by a tribe member from Salton City, that when the dike broke in 1905, the tribe had a village in the middle of the sea, and that several structure still remain under the water, which is only 55 feet deep
posted by kevin on 6-19-2009 at 10:19 am
Great pics! The CA website seems to have a slightly different take on the Salton Sea: saltonsea.ca.gov/myths.htm
I also grew up, and currently recreate on the pristine New River in SWVA. Glad it seems to be quite different other than flow direction from the New River in this article!
posted by bobdobalena on 6-19-2009 at 1:18 pm
these are mostly lies i had just visited the sea and there bunches of small neighborhoods and happy people all around. Plus the local gov’ts have cleaned most of it up!! theres still a slight rotten egg smell in the morning then it goes away!
posted by liarfinder on 6-19-2009 at 1:34 pm
Thanks for the pics. The only time I was at Niland and surrounds, I couldn’t have a camera. At least you can still get a cold beer there, I hope…
posted by Oz on 6-19-2009 at 2:09 pm
For more bizarre-ness, check out Trona,CA. Just to the west of town is an area of truly weird spires rising from the desert floor, used in at least ONE “Star Trek” movie AND “Lost in Space” from TV.
I actually swam, if you will, IN the Salton Sea back in the early ’70’s. It’s almost impossible to actually swim. 80% of your body was above water from the salt content. And, no, I didn’t die.
posted by Chuck on 6-19-2009 at 3:44 pm
Interesting coincidence — just yesterday, I watched an amazing documentary on Leonard Knight and four other divinely inspired, eclectic builders. It’s called “God’s Architects.” Definitely worth a look. See my website for links to some video clips.
posted by Vincent Baudoin on 6-19-2009 at 4:09 pm
I have now added the Salton Sea to my list of places I should visit before I die. As to Vincent’s comment about “divinely” inspired architecture I think “insanely” inspired would be more appropriate.
posted by Trevor on 6-19-2009 at 5:14 pm
Looks like I have a new vacation spot for the wife and kids.
posted by Mort on 6-19-2009 at 7:07 pm
i lived in niland for 15 years qnd still visit 1 to 2 times a month they say if you ever drink the water you will never leave for good in my case it seems to be true niland as a town is ok but there is a whole lot for mess-up people that live there vacation spot only if your vacation is a half day long
posted by larry on 6-20-2009 at 4:06 am
Really interesting post, and great pics. Like other commenters, I’m going to dig around to see what the area used to look like.
posted by Jellio on 6-20-2009 at 5:31 am
…this is a beautiful article. As one who love abandoned spaces everywhere, photographs them, plays music in them (an older release is called “music for abandoned spaces”) I might mention to you, if you havent seen it- is perhaps the oldest and best of these- http://www.abandoned-places.com. The project of my friend Henk, who is an airline pilot who plans his itineraries around visiting and photographing such places…
Thanks much, all best-
s t e p h e n s p e r a
posted by stephen spera on 6-20-2009 at 12:11 pm
My digital imaging professor at SDSU wrote a book about the Salton Sea (you can click on my name to go to her website, there are some cool old photos and an interactive map).
I’ve been there a few times and it is pretty fascinating. It is uniquely beautiful, to see how time affects what people have long abandoned. Although I do have to say, the last time I visited, there were quite a few brand new communities springing up.
Also, if you’re driving back to San Diego from the Salton Sea, I recommend driving 78 through the Anza Borrego Desert. It’s beautiful.
posted by Lauren on 6-20-2009 at 12:20 pm
My blog probably will not publish on this cite. We used to go to the Salton Sea when it was a thriving lake. The fish they stocked grew to be large and lushus. After the water started to stagnate Congressman Sonny Bono started to fund the sea to get rid of the smell wafting to Palm Springs. We had hoped the Indians would get the northern part of the lake, build a casino to make money to clean up the water. It would have been a perfect place to water ski, fish, and sun bathe. People would have built condos and restaurants galore, but now we will never see it cleaned up, as ARNold didn’t do what he said he’d do, clean up the crap in Sacramento. Vote-m-Out
posted by Duncan on 6-20-2009 at 2:16 pm
My family and friends went frequently to the Salton Sea back in the early to mid 1980s primarily for the fishing. It was an amazing place. The fishing was unbelievable. I actually caught a 15 pound Orangemouth Corvina by accident when I was 10 or 11, while fishing for panfish (the now suddenly “gourmet-class” Tilapia.. what a laugh). The smell, the heat, the fishing.. I’ll never forget it. Anyhow, great pictures R.R.
posted by Joel on 6-20-2009 at 4:52 pm
after reading through these posts, i had to comment. Not one of you have the slightest idea what the Sea is like truely. You spend a few days camping on the beach, and all of a sudden your an expert on the place. I lived there for over 15 years, grew up there, swam in the waters almost every day during the 80’s, swallowed my fair share of the water, and survived the 120 defree days, and im still here. the heat does not kill off the fish, it’s the pollution coming up from Mexico, no matter what the park rangers say. It’s a damn shame the gov wont take a little responsibility for cleaning the place up. the residents there do pay taxes, but i guess san diego is much more important than a dead lake that drying up, leading to some massive health problems in the future. Maybe if they changed the name to GM Waters, they might get some help
posted by Snarly on 6-20-2009 at 5:48 pm
another great salton sea/salvation mountain story with pictures. link is embeded in this comment.
posted by greg on 6-20-2009 at 11:21 pm
Thanks for going there so I never have to, I think you captured everything I would have found interesting about that place and Southern California frightens me.
posted by clare on 6-22-2009 at 12:55 pm
These pictures are exactly what I imagined when I read the book The Road. If you ever get a chance to go to Japan you should go visit Battleship Island (aka Hashima Island). It is right up your alley.
posted by random on 6-23-2009 at 4:49 am
these pics reminds me of a ghost town.
absolutely great shots.
posted by robb on 6-23-2009 at 12:07 pm
I’m fairly certian the northward-flowing New River is on the east coast. In fact, I can see it from here.
posted by WV Barbie on 6-23-2009 at 1:26 pm
I just watched the movie “Into the Wild” last night and Salvation Mountain and Slap City were both in the movie. Highly recommended. Great article. Nice to know it is a real place!
posted by GoMoJo on 6-23-2009 at 1:58 pm
Sorry, Slab City – argh
posted by GoMoJo on 6-23-2009 at 1:59 pm
http://www.saltonsea.ca.gov/thesea.htm
Are they talking about the same place?????
posted by Redsapph on 6-24-2009 at 8:25 am
Oh how sad. When I was a little girl we use to go to Salton…it was so beautiful.I now live in Florida and I have seen first hand what agriculture run off can do and has done to the Florida Everglades.California needs to clean this up yesterday….truly a disgrace.
posted by pamela smith on 7-1-2009 at 5:25 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRD_r3Wl-W8
from my visit there a few years ago.
posted by TacomaMike on 7-5-2009 at 12:43 pm
Hmm.. a couple of things in the words above don’t seem to fit. Why would Nazi submarines case problems with fishing off California, since borders the Pacific (and Nazi subs were in the Atlantic)? I’ve never seen any statistics that fishing in California was every primarily from the Salton Sea, considering that before about 1900 it didn’t even exist.
Since that time, the “Sea” has been shrinking… and the Real Estate boom that was pushed by speculators in the 1950’s has imploded, leaving ghost towns amid a naturally receeding shoreline.
It is a strange place — too many people take the Sea as natural (it’s not), and the abandoned marinas and villages as ecological disaster. It’s just nature coming back to balance.
There are some really cool places there — the whole southern end is intense agriculture areas with lots of birds and wild life along the shore. It’s one of the largest geothermal energy areas in the world, and geologically active — with surprizing cold bubbling mud pots, driven by CO2 bubbling up from under ground.
posted by Larrison on 7-5-2009 at 11:31 pm
Ransom, I love your posts. Thanks!
posted by Melodye on 8-11-2009 at 6:48 pm
Good article, I actually met Leonard Knight last summer while doing some exploring about SoCal. I was very pleased to find out that he is the genuine article from what you see in “Into The Wild”. It was quite the experience I had since I just finished the book and watched the movie…and had the Eddie Vedder soundtrack blasting while driving out there from L.A. It was a wonderful experience, Leonard showed me all around and told me his story of how Salvation Mountain came to be. He is truly a man who is full of love for everyone. If you’re looking for faith in human kind, it’s a good place to start.
posted by John on 9-4-2009 at 2:09 pm
I don’t know about fishing statistics, but there most certainly were U-Boats in the Pacific during WWII. They were protecting ships going to/from Japan, which was of course allied with Nazi Germany.
posted by Calli Arcale on 9-10-2009 at 5:22 pm
These photos look like the backdrop from the “Land of the Lost” movie with Will Farrel that I saw this past summer.
posted by Hollie on 10-2-2009 at 1:18 pm
Oh man, I just had the biggest laugh all month. The house with the spray paint that says “The Hills Have Eyes” is my brothers house!!! I’m not even kidding!
It’s in the trailer park called Bombay Beach, just outside of Niland, CA.
Now adays, The Salton Sea is for people who want to escape big town living. It’s definitely ghetto with tweakers, desert rats and massive amounts of white trash but that’s just what some people desire.
posted by Drew on 10-11-2009 at 11:02 am