I show it to my students as part of a lesson on environmental policy. [/quote]
I hope you realize that the current Salton Sea was created by the accidently breach of a dike in 1905 during a heavy rain season. It’s kinda like a puddle of water that develops during a heavy rain, only to evaporate when the weather is drier. Why we feel we need to “save” the Salton Sea is beyond me.
Reference:
The creation of the Salton Sea of today started in 1905, when heavy rainfall and snowmelt caused the Colorado River to swell and breach an Imperial Valley dike. It took nearly two years to control the Colorado River’s flow into the formerly dry Salton Sink and stop the flooding. As the basin filled, the town of Salton, a Southern Pacific Railroad siding and Torres-Martinez Indian land were submerged. The sudden influx of water and the lack of any drainage from the basin resulted in the formation of the Salton Sea.
The Salton Sea is no accident. It is there because it’s part of the Colorado River delta and the Salton Trough caused by the San Andreas Fault. It was controlled by the silt of the river.
There were many times in history that the river would flow directly into it and not to the ocean due to silt damming. The sediments are as deep as 1200′ in some areas. Basically the El Centro is sitting on top of the sand from the Grand Canyon.
To say that a puddle of water that sits below sea level in the middle of a rift valley that is always moving apart and is next to one of the largest drainage basins on our continent is “Caused by accident” is a little short sighted
