Heated Seat at the Salton Sea by Diana Sainz Photograph by Diana Raquel Sainz

Heated Seat at the Salton Sea by Diana Sainz

by Diana Raquel Sainz

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Title

Heated Seat at the Salton Sea by Diana Sainz

Artist

Diana Raquel Sainz

Medium

Photograph - Photography - Digital Photography

Description

FEATURED IMAGE: Art From the Past ~ FAA ~ 01/06/2014

The Salton Sea
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This dock, boat and chair in decay sits on the West Shore of the Salton Sea near Salton City. The waters have dried up leaving only the remnants of what once was a "Miracle in the Desert". The shores are lined with dead fish, a putrid smell, and agricultural run offs from nearby farms that have destroyed this paradise lost. Saving the Salton Sea is something I do believe in. It is surrounded by so much beauty, mountains, desert, and very humble people.
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California's largest body of water is located in the desert of Riverside and Imperial Counties of Southern California, 40 miles southeast of Palm Springs on the San Andreas Fault. The sea occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink at 226 feet below sea level.
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This man-made mistake was formed between 1905 and 1907 as a result of an epic engineering error when the Colorado River burst through poorly built irrigation controls south of Yuma, Arizona. Over 375 square miles of the Salton Basin filled with the flow from the river submerging communities, farms, agricultural lands, and the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
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In the 1920's, as realization set in that the Salton Sea was not "drying up" as once assumed, real estate developers and investors made an attempt to prosper from this mishap by turning this then fresh water lake into a tourist attraction offering water recreation, fishing, campgrounds and enjoyment of the wildlife attracted to the area.
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Having had some success as a resort area in the 1950's and early1960's, this once known vacation destination, also called the "California Riviera" and the "Miracle in the Desert", a playground for many of the rich and famous, including Jerry Lewis, Roy Rogers and the Marx Brothers, was thriving in its glory. Much like the blazing summers of 120 degree temperatures, the real estate around the Salton Sea was sizzling. Salesmen were making deals and selling lots from small planes above, yacht clubs were filled with party goers and championship golf courses were adorned with visitors such as Desi Arnaz.
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It was said that Salton City would become the most popular sea resort in all of Southern California. Neighborhoods were planned, infrastructures assembled, streets were built and named, but the people never came.
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By the mid 1960's and 1970's, dreams were dying fast. Fertilizer runoffs from surrounding agricultural farms and lands combined with the increased salinity resulting algal blooms and elevated bacteria levels were endangering much of the wildlife and fish. Vacationers and residents could not flee fast enough, abandoning half built dwellings, homes, and schools, businesses that once thrived and personal belongings.
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Today the Salton Sea still remains somewhat of a ghost town. Waterfront lots and campsites are carpeted with rotting dead fish creating a putrid stench disgusting enough to make you gasp at first breath. High levels of selenium and toxins have also been found in the sea contributing to one of the highest mortality and deformity populations in birds and fish in the country.
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Evidence of what was once attempted or what could have been line the surrounding highways of 111 and 86. Abandoned communities, resorts and yacht clubs, most either remnant's engulfed by the sea or vandalized beyond recognition by street gangs still stand. The eerie, desolate, and unnatural feel of this sea is heightened by the undeveloped neighborhoods, old real estate signs, motels, campgrounds and stench that that linger around the sea
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This "Miracle in the Desert' is hardly a "Miracle" at all, but now one of America's worst ecological tragedies and disasters