A Forlorn Hope in the Southern California Desert

I lived in the Imperial Valley in the Southern California desert community of Brawley from the summer of 1999 to the summer of 2000. During that time, I explored the area on my days off and I once visited the various communities surrounding the nearby Salton Sea. It was clear that the glory days for these communities and the Salton Sea were long gone. And yet twenty-four years later, it is abundantly clear that the problems for residents of the Salton Sea communities and the residents of the adjacent desert communities are far more serious than just lost tourism dollars and lost tax dollars as residents of the Salton Sea communities pack up and move elsewhere. The Salton Sea is disappearing and it has resulted in a very dangerous situation for people and animals. And it is getting worse as the Lake evaporates away into a dry lake bed. The documentary, Miracle in the Desert: The Rise and Fall of the Salton Sea, tells the interesting story of the accidental creation of the Salton Sea, the heyday of the Salton Sea as a popular tourist destination, its decline, and the fight to save the Salton Sea (see link below).

As is mentioned towards the end of the documentary, the Salton Sea is both "forlorn" and "beautiful." It will be interesting to see how this ultimately unfolds.

Miracle in the Desert: The Rise and Fall of the Salton Sea