The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake, located in the Colorado Desert in Southern California, north of the Imperial Valley. The lake covers a surface area of approximately 376 square miles (974 km²), making it the largest lake in California. It varies in dimensions and area due to changes in agricultural runoff and rain. It averages 15 by 35 miles (24 by 56 km). Its maximum depth is 51 feet and its total volume is about 7.5 million acre-feet (9.3 km³). Sea inflow averages 1.36 million acre-feet per year.
The Salton Sea falls within the territories of both Riverside County and Imperial County. Like Death Valley, it is located below sea level, with the current surface of the Sea at about 220 feet (65 metres) below sea level. The deepest point in the Sea is only 5 feet higher than the lowest point in Death Valley. The Sea is fed by the New, Whitewater and Alamo rivers, as well as a number of minor agricultural drainage paths and creeks.
The Salton Sea has had some success as a resort area, with Salton City, Salton Sea Beach, and Desert Shores being built on the western shore and Desert Beach, North Shore, and Bombay Beach built on the eastern shore in the 1950s. The town of Niland is located 2 miles (3 km) southeast of the Sea as well. The evidence of geothermal activity is also visible. There are mud pots and mud volcanoes on the eastern side of the Salton Sea.
The lack of an outflow means that the Salton Sea is a system of accelerated change. Furthermore, variations in agricultural runoff cause fluctuations in water level and the relatively high salinity of the inflow feeding the Sea has resulting in an ever increasing level of salinity. By the 1960s, it was becoming apparent that the salinity of the Salton Sea was continuing to rise, jeopardizing some of the species living in it. The Salton Sea currently has a salinity exceeding 40‰ (parts per thousand), making it saltier than ocean water and therefore many species of fish are no longer able to survive in the Salton. It is believed that once the salinity surpasses 44‰, only the tilapia (a variety of cichlid fishes of the genera Oreochromis and Sarotherodon) will be able to survive.
The increasing salinity, algae, and bacteria levels have taken their toll on tourism, and many of the Salton Sea resorts are now closed and abandoned. Before recent water control measures were implemented, the Salton Sea's surface tended to rise and fall severely, causing flooding problems in some of the surrounding communities.
The future of the Salton Sea is unclear, as intervention is required to manage the increasingly unstable system. Such intervention would require massive policy and financial commitments from the state and federal governments. The growth of San Diego, and its willingness to pay high prices for water, entices water districts to sell their water rather than dedicate it to agricultural purposes. As the Salton Sea is nearly completely dependent on agricultural water runoff, the lake is highly dependent on the path of water politics in the coming years.
