Salton Sea

BOU AVENUE
Salton Sea

Following an epic ascent of Rabbit Peak the previous day, Zosia Zgolak and I enjoyed a very relaxing rest day on 30 December 2023 in the vicinity of southern California's Salton Sea. This man-made inland body of water has a fascinating and troubled history which is well-documented online but beyond the scope of this personal blog. It probably suffices to say that the Salton Sea is an environmental ticking time bomb that threatens the long term health of all people living in the surrounding communities. Naturally, we had to go take a look for ourselves as we drove to the beach near the north end of Salton City. The first thing we noticed were the large arrays of hay bales which are designed to minimize blowing dust and to encourage the growth of natural vegetation. Although it was possible to get close to the water's edge, the beach is far from being pleasant as it is littered with barnacle shells and other detritus. A couple of powered paragliders flew over us while we were on the beach, but otherwise, there was nothing else of interest to justify us lingering longer.

Leaving Salton City, Zosia and I drove west to check out some metal sculptures scattered throughout a private estate--Galleta Meadows--near the desert community of Borrego Springs. The sculptures are the brainchild of the estate's late owner, Dennis Avery, who commissioned artist Ricardo Breceda to craft more than a hundred metal replicas of various modern and prehistoric animals, fantasy creatures, and even some people. We only had time to visit a small fraction of the sculptures before rain and waning daylight forced us to move on.

Beautiful day but the beach is anything but nice!

Sonny and Zosia stand on the shores of Salton Sea at an elevation of about 69 metres below sea level, the second lowest point of land in North America surpassed only by Badwater Basin in Death Valley.

World's most inhospitable beach?

The receding shoreline demonstrates that Salton Sea is slowly evaporating.

A powered paraglider skims the surface of the beach.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

There's probably a few fish bones in there too!

Instead of nice sand, the beaches of the Salton Sea are littered with barnacle shells.

Zosia touches the waters of Salton Sea which is about 50 percent saltier than the Pacific Ocean.

The jury is still out on their effectiveness.

Bales of hay have been positioned on the beaches in order to mitigate blowing dust and promote the growth of natural vegetation.

Some ominous clouds moving in...glad we're not up there today!

Here is a view of Villager Peak (left) from Borrego Salton Seaway (Highway S22). The top of Rabbit Peak is obscured by clouds at far left.

	Artist Ricardo Breceda created numerous metal sculptures which are scattered throughout the desert in the vicinity of Borrego Springs, California. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	This is as close as Zosia would get to see a desert turtle on this trip.
	A rainbow adds some drama to this standoff between Sonny and a peccary. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	This is a sculpture of a prehistoric creature known as a Harlan's ground sloth. The sloth is apparently carrying a baby.
	Probably the most impressive sculpture in the area is the Serpent, also known as the Borrego Springs Dragon. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia sits comfortably on the tail of the Serpent.