A postcard promoting the Salton Sea as a family tourist destination during its heyday of the 1950s.
Instagram/@thesaltonsea
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This RV Park and cafe looks like it hasn't seen a busy lunch crowd in decades. 2009.
Flickr/Philippe Reichert
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Fertilizers from local farms have drained into the Salton Sea and caused a think layer of algae, 2008.Wikipedia Commons/Nandaro
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As the algae dies, it creates a thick layer of dead muck on the lake's bottom, cutting off oxygen. 2008.Wikimedia Commons
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Because the dead algae cuts off oxygen, hydrogen sulfide gas is created, killing wildlife. 2012.Library of Congress/Carol Highsmith
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Several dead tilapia on a dried-up patch of beach. 2013. CJ Glynn/Flickr
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A dead fish that died because of the polluted water. 2009. Flickr/Brazilfox
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A couple of proud anglers show off their catch from a day of fishing in the Salton Sea. 1962. Los Angeles Public Library
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An abandoned bait shop leftover from the area's glory days. 2006.Wikipedia Commons/Kit Conn
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The area was once renowned for its beaches, but is now a shell of its former self. 2006.Wikipedia Commons/Jeremy Engleman
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The Bombay Beach Drive-In is now a junkyard for rusting cars. 2016.Flickr/slworking2
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The West Shores Baptist Church welcomes any visitors to the area. 2013.Wikipedia Commons/Tuxyso
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A family on the shore watches as people enjoy water sports. 1958. Los Angeles Public Library
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A postcard from the 1950s advertises the Hofbrou Restaurant, now long since closed. Instagram/@thesaltonsea
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Families enjoy a sunny day picnicking on busy beaches. 1958.Los Angeles Public Library
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The Ski Inn bar and grille is one of the few joints still kicking and is open seven days a week from morning until midnight to serve any customers who may walk through the door. 2017. Flickr/DClemm
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One of the numerous abandoned and forgotten structures littering the area. 2012. Library of Congress/Carol Highsmith
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Parts of Bombay Beach now look like a bombed-out war zone. 2008.Wikipedia Commons/Alexander Novati
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Unfinished and abandoned houses sit on a street near the Salton Sea. 2010.Wikimedia Commons
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Another abandoned lot of Salton City and a reminder of a piece of Americana now gone. 2013. Flickr/Kazuo Murata
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A sign advertising the once popular nature activities that brought people to the area. 2013. Flickr/Adam
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Pelicans, gulls, and burrowing owls like this one still call the area home, though finding food isn't always easy for them. 2015. Flickr/Chuck Coker
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The California drought is slowly shrinking the Salton Sea, leaving much of its lake bed cracked and dry. 2011. Flickr/Kent Davis
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Visitors to the area in the 1950s would have seen this sign that welcomed them to the beach and told them of the Salton Sea's accidental creation. 1958. Los Angeles Public Library
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Geothermal activity has created "mud volcanoes" that can be up to eight feet high and ooze out mud that's 128 degrees Fahrenheit. 2006. Wikimedia Commons/Atmoz
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A few teenagers investigate the water's edge. 1938. Los Angeles Public Library
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An aerial view of the Salton Sea's north shore. 1958. Los Angeles Public Library
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Salvation Mountain is a massive art installation covering a hill north of Calipatria, California, just several miles from the Salton Sea. 2012. Library of Congress/Carol Highsmith
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A decorative truck parked at the Salvation Mountain art exhibit. 2012. Library of Congress/Carol Highsmith
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The Bombay Beach Community Center is a place to gather for the 295 residents who call the town home. 2008. Wikimedia Commons/Alexander Novati
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A girl enjoys a walk along Bombay Beach with her dog. 1938. Los Angeles Public Library
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A busy day of boating on the waters of the Salton Sea. 1958. Los Angeles Public Library
From Hot Spot To Ghost Town: 33 Photos Of California’s Abandoned Salton Sea
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Just 60 miles from nearby Palm Springs with its meticulously maintained golf courses lies the Salton Sea, California's largest lake and at one time during the mid-20th century, a tourism hot spot. Things have changed, however, and now it's clear that time has not been kind to the Salton Sea.
The sea — a lake, actually — was created by accident in 1905 when flooding from the Colorado River into irrigation canals eventually led a 40-mile stretch of desert known as the Salton Sink to fill with water, thus creating the lake.
Because its waters never discharge into the ocean and just seep into the ground or evaporate, the water has a high salinity level that just goes up as the years roll on.
Its salinity level was much lower 70 years ago, however, and the area quickly became a vacation spot, drawing tourists to the area year-round. At the Salton Sea's peak, it was pulling in 1.5 million visitors annually, more than Yosemite at that time.
The area's reputation for fun on the lake and fishing didn't last long and by the 1970s the fish population had begun to die. With a dwindling fish supply and water that had rising salinity levels as well as fertilizer runoff, tourism quickly dried up.
But then, a glimmer of hope arrived for the area in 2002, when a utility company made a deal to divert billions of gallons of water to the surrounding San Diego County on the condition that the state of California would assume future responsibility for the lake. The company would supply mitigation water from farmland to offset the Salton Sea's shrinkage. California failed to take appropriate action, however, and the area has now become an ecological sore spot.
Large parts of the lake have since dried up, leading to dust storms and several public health concerns.
Salton City and Bombay Beach, which lay near the lake, are now shells of their former selves with abandoned motels and rusted out RVs looking like tombstones of a forgotten era. The area still has a small population, but most of its 15,000 residents left long ago, leaving behind the remnants of a forgotten piece of Americana.
Next after viewing these Salton Sea photos, see more of the Salton Sea. Then, check out some European natural wonders sure to spur your wanderlust.
Joel Stice holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with more than 10 years of experience in writing and editing, during which time his work has appeared on Heavy, Uproxx, and Buzzworthy.
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
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Stice, Joel. "From Hot Spot To Ghost Town: 33 Photos Of California’s Abandoned Salton Sea." AllThatsInteresting.com, June 4, 2017, https://allthatsinteresting.com/salton-sea-photos. Accessed February 4, 2025.
