In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong

Photography field reports by Richard Wong. Richard’s work has been published in magazines, books, advertising, and offers fine art prints of his work. Images may be licensed as rights-managed stock photos by contacting Richard directly at Richard@rwongphoto.com or (626) 422-6151. California stock photography, fine art prints, photo blog: www.rwongphoto.com

The Salty Salton Sea

Posted on | February 26, 2009 | 2 Comments

Dead Fish on Shoreline, Salton Sea, California

Dead Fish on Shoreline, Salton Sea, California

The Salton Sea is basically a big agricultural sewage dump that provides habitat for a lot of wildlife including migrating birds of the Pacific Flyway. Unfortunately for the wildlife, what caused the lake to exist is ultimately going to be its downfall. You have to understand the history of the Salton Sea to understand why it is the way it is today.

The Salton Sea is located below sea level and was created in the early 1900’s by accident due to the Colorado River overflowing. The overflow was directed into a large salty bowl that was once part of a large inland sea. This is where the current day Salton Sea is located. With no natural outlet for the water, the water has continually gotten saltier and add in the fact that agricultural runoff is deposited here it is no wonder why the ecosystem has hit a tipping point.

I was told by a park ranger that mass die-offs tend to happen in the summer when the hot weather increases the salinity of the saltwater to a point where fish can’t survive in it. On this day I saw just a few skeletons on the shoreline but certainly not tens of millions like there have been before.

Category: California, Salton Sea, environmental issues
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Comments

2 Responses to “The Salty Salton Sea”

  1. Leann Greene
    February 27th, 2009 @ 7:48 am

    Very cool capture-gets the point across and it is also interesting.

  2. Richard Wong
    February 27th, 2009 @ 12:21 pm

    Thanks Leann.

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