Originally part of the Gulf of California, the Salton Sea was created when silt from the Gulf blocked the region off from the larger body of water. The basin was occupied by five distinct bodies of water, including ancient Lake Cahuilla, over the millennia. Between 1905 and 1907, the Salton Sea took its present form, as the Colorado River busted through diversion canals created that formed Imperial County’s irrigation system.
Established in 1955, the Salton Sea State Recreation Area encompasses nearly 2,000 acres and is one of the larger California state parks. The sea is an environmentally critical habitat for a diverse range of avian life, including wintering and migratory shorebirds as well as waterfowl. Unfortunately, with agricultural sources the major conduit for water to flow to the sea, it is fast disappearing in the wake of new conservation and water transfer measures. Without a robust restoration plan in place, this major bird stopover may be lost completely within a few short years.