The Salton Sea, California\u27s largest lake, is located in the southeastern desert region of California. It lies within a 7851 square mile endorheic hydrologic basin that includes the Coachella and Imperial Valleys of California, and the Mexicali Valley of Mexico, with a surface elevation of 227 feet below mean sea level (msl). The shallow nature of this hypersaline lake, with a surface area of 367 square miles (951 square kilometers) and a maximum depth of 51 feet (15.5 meters), renders it very sensitive to even slight changes of inflow volume. Over 85 percent of the water entering the Salton Sea results from agricultural run-off, 1.34 million acre feet (Maf), with less than three percent of annual inflow deriving from basin precipitation. The Salton Sea is situated in the Colorado Desert in one of the most arid regions of the United States. Annual precipitation is less than 3 in. (7.6 cm), and mean monthly temperatures in July are 92°F (33.3°C), with maximum temperatures exceeding 100°F (37.7°C) on more than 110 days per annum. Potential evaporation is estimated at 5.78 feet (1.76 meters) per year.https://inspire.redlands.edu/oh_chapters/1161/thumbnail.jp

Hogan, C Michael

Krantz, Tim

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Salton Sea, California 
Tim Krantz 
University of Redlands 
C Michael Hogan 
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Landsat Satellite Image of the Salton Sea
Salton Sea, California
From The Encyclopedia of Earth
Published: August 23, 2008, 9:45 pm
Author: Timothy Krantz
Contributing Author: C.Michael Hogan
Topic Editor: Brian Black
Topics:
Environmental History (main)
Ecology (main)
Evolutionary Biology (main)
The Salton Sea, California's largest lake, is located in the
southeastern desert region of California. It lies within a
7851 square mile endorheic hydrologic basin that includes
the Coachella and Imperial Valleys of California, and the
Mexicali Valley of Mexico, with a surface elevation of
227 feet below mean sea level (msl). The shallow nature
of this hypersaline lake, with a surface area of 367 square
miles (951 square kilometers) and a maximum depth of 51
feet (15.5 meters), renders it very sensitive to even slight
changes of inflow volume. Over 85 percent of the water
entering the Salton Sea results from agricultural run-off,
1.34 million acre feet (Maf), with less than three percent
of annual inflow deriving from basin precipitation. The
Salton Sea is situated in the Colorado Desert in one of the
most arid regions of the United States. Annual
precipitation is less than 3 in. (7.6 cm), and mean monthly
temperatures in July are 92°F (33.3°C), with maximum
temperatures exceeding 100°F (37.7°C) on more than 110 days per annum. Potential evaporation is estimated at
5.78 feet (1.76 meters) per year.
Contents
1 Hydrological History
2 Fauna
3 Water Quality
4 Conservation Outlook
5 References and Further Reading
6 Citation
Double breasted cormorants at Bombay Bay along
the eastern shore of Salton Sea. @C. Michael
Hogan
Hydrological History
The Salton Basin, once connected to the Gulf of California, is characterized by a shallow marine environment. For
the past several million years, sediments that once filled the Grand Canyon were eroded by the Colorado River and
deposited in the Gulf of California, eventually creating a large delta, blocking off the Salton Basin from the ocean.
Once separated from the Gulf of California, the Salton Basin would periodically dry out as the Colorado River
drained directly into the Gulf of California. At other times, the river would change course and fill the basin. These
prehistoric inundations have been called Lake Cahuilla or alternatively Lake LeConte.
The present-day Salton Sea was formed in the year 1905 when flood flows on the Colorado River rushed into the
Salton Basin (Salton Sink) through a temporary diversion channel until the breach was finally filled by the
Southern Pacific Railroad Company in 1907. After an initial high stand of about -195 ft msl, the sea receded to an
elevation about -250 ft msl by the year 1920. Since that time, with the expansion of agriculture in the Imperial and
Coachella valleys and increased agricultural run-off, the surface elevation of the sea has risen to its current
elevation of about -227 ft msl. The elevation of the sea has remained relatively stable at its current level since the
1980s, indicating that the inflow of about 1.34 Maf is equal to evaporation at that elevation.
Fauna
More than 400 species of invertebrates, mostly single celled plankton, have been identified in the sea. These
provide the food base supporting a highly productive fishery, with an estimated 200 million fish-one of the most
productive fisheries in the world.The Salton Sea is of critical
importance for many species of migratory birds. The sea
supports over ninety percent of the North American population
of eared grebes, with as many as three million individuals
during migration, as many as 30,000 American white pelicans
and 2000 brown pelicans, more than 120,000 shorebirds of 44
species, 25,000 Snow and Ross' geese, the largest breeding
colony of gull-billed terns in Western North America, and 45%
of endangered Yuma clapper rail habitat. The Vulnerable
Double breasted cormorant is also found here.
Water Quality
Approximately 4.5 million tons of salts are added to the sea
annually. Because evaporation is the only outlet from the sea,
the dissolved salts, nutrients, and minerals that enter the sea
remain there, and have accumulated over the past century to
the point at which the sea is now about 25% saltier than the
ocean, at about 44,000 mg L. Increasing salinity may cause the fishery to collapse as it approaches 60,000 mg L.
At the present rate of salt loading of about 4.5 million tons per year, the Salton Sea would reach the 60,000 mg L
threshold in about one half century, assuming inflow remains at its present level of 1.34 Maf per year.
Nutrient loading from agricultural run-off has created eutrophic conditions at the Salton Sea. Productivity and
biomass are very high, leading to oxygen depletion caused by decay of accumulated biological material. These
anoxic conditions have contributed to extensive fish kills over the past few decades, leading to further oxygen
depletion. Eutrophic conditions worsen during summer months, when high biological productivity and warm water
temperatures conspire to greatly reduce dissolved oxygen throughout the water column. One event, in August
1999, resulted in the death of six to seven million fish over a period of several days. Chemical data taken at the
time indicated an almost complete loss of dissolved oxygen in portions of the sea coincident with that event.
Willet feeding at the eastern Salton Sea shoreline.
@ C. Michael Hogan
Conservation Outlook
With reduced inflows from water transfers, conservation
measures and increased demand, salinity increases rapidly and
the contracting lake concentrates salts already in residence
while more salts continue to enter the sea in agricultural run-
off. With a reduction of inflow by 300,000 af per year, salinity
would reach the 60,000 mg L threshold for the fishery in about
twelve years; and with a reduction of 500,000 af, salinity
would reach the limit of tolerance of the fishery in just merely
five years. The collapse of the fishery would represent a
serious adverse environmental impact. The death of 200
million fish would have a cascade effect on the rest of the
ecosystem, causing the demise of many fish-eating bird
populations, exacerbating eutrophication from decomposition
of the dead fish, and creating a huge breeding ground for flies
and other pathogens in their rotting carcasses. Many species of birds would be critically impacted. Ground-nesting
bird colonies on Mullet Island-the only island in the sea-would be exposed to coyotes, cats, and other predators
with a draw down of merely seven feet. Many other species would experience substantial whole-species population
declines. Other potential impacts of reduced inflows to the Salton Sea include collapse of lake-related economies,
such as boating, hunting, fishing, and property values; degradation of air quality as a result of exposure of as much
as 120 mix2 of fine lake bottom sediments to the desert winds; loss of agricultural productivity from salt and dust
deposition; and increased respiratory disease and human health problems as a result of airborne sediments.
References and Further Reading
Hely, A.G.; Hughes, G.H.; Irelan, B. Hydrologic Regimen of the Salton Sea; Professional Paper 486-C, U.S.
Geologic Survey: Washington, 1966; 1-32.
Downs, T.; Woodward, G. Middle Pleistocene Extension of the Gulf of California into the Imperial Valley.
Geol. Soc. Am. Special Paper 1961, 68 (21).
Dibblee, T. W., Jr. Geology of the Imperial Valley Region, California. In Geology of Southern California,
California Division of Mines and Geol. Bull.; Jahns, R.H., Ed.; State of California: San Francisco, 1954; Vol.
170, 21-28.
Laflin, P., 1995. The Salton Sea: California's overlooked treasure. The Periscope, Coachella Valley Historical
Society, Indio, California. 61 pp. (Reprinted in 1999)
Krantz, T.; Buckles, J.; Kashiwase, K. Reconstruction of Prehistoric Lake Cahuilla and Early American
Settlement Patterns in Southeast California Using GIS. Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual ESRI
International User Conference, San Diego, California, 2000.
Waters, M.R. Holocene Lacustrine Chronology and Archaeology of Ancient Lake Cahuilla. Calif. Quat. Res.
1983, 19, 373-387.
Wilke, J.P. Late Prehistoric Human Ecology at Lake Cahuilla, Coachella Valley, California. Contr. of the
Univ. of Calif. Arch. Res. Facility, Berkeley, 1978, 38.
Schaefer, J. An Inventory and Evaluation of Lake Cahuilla Cultural Resources Along Imperial Irrigation
District's SA- Line, San Diego and Imperial Counties, California. Prepared by ASM Affiliates, Inc.,
Encinitas, California, December 2000.
Salton Sea Authority, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Draft Salton Sea Restoration Project Environmental
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report. Prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc., January, 2000.
Hurlbert, S.; Dexter, D.; Kuperman, B. Reconnaissance of the Biological Limnology of the Salton Sea.
Prepared for the Salton Sea Authority, 1998.
Reidel, R.; Helvenston, L.; Costa-Pierce, B. Final Report: Fish Biology and Fisheries Ecology of the Salton
Sea. prepared Under Contract to the Salton Sea Science Office, 2001.
Shuford, W.D.; Warnock, N.; Molina, K.C.; Mulrooney, B.; Black, A.E. Avifauna of the Salton Sea:
Abundance, Distri¬bution, and Annual Phenology. Contribution No. 931 of Point Reyes Bird Observatory.
Final Report for EPA Con¬tract No. R826552-01-0 to the Salton Sea Authority, 2000.
Thiery, R. The Potential Impact of Rising Salinity on the Salton Sea Ecosystem. Prepared Under Contract to
the Salton Sea Science Office, 1998.
Setmire, J.; Holdren, C.; Robertson, D.; Amrhein, C.; Elder, J.; Schroeder, R.; Schladow, G.; McKellar, H.;
Gersberg, R. Eutrophic Conditions at the Salton Sea. A Topical Paper from the Eutrophication Workshop
Convened at the University of California at Riverside, Sept 7-8, 2000. Prepared for the Salton Sea Authority,
the Salton Sea Science Office, and the Bureau of Reclamation, 2000.
Holdren, C. Chemical and Physical Analysis of the Salton Sea. Prepared for the Salton Sea Authority, U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, Colorado, 2000.
Imperial Irrigation District, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Draft Environmental Impact
Report/Environ¬mental Impact Statement Imperial Irrigation District Water Conservation and Transfer
Project and Draft Habitat Conservation Plan. Prepared by CH2MHILL, 2002
Citation
Krantz, T. and C.M. Hogan (2008). Salton Sea, California. Encyclopedia of Earth, NCSE, Washington DC. updated
2019 Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Salton_Sea,_California.
Retrieved from "https://editors.eol.org/eoearth/index.php?title=Salton_Sea,_California&oldid=141412"
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