S outhern Californians have become accustomed to considerable hyperbole and inaccuracy in reportage on Salton Sea issues. Scientists who pronounce on systems they are unfamiliar with can do damage too. Colburn gives a reasonable synopsis of the Salton Sea's history and its character as a lake that persists only because of the large inflows of agricultural wastewaters. The Salton is a dead sea. The Salton Sea is only 25-30 percent saltier than ocean water, not 200 plus percent as he claims.
Fish grow faster here than in probably any other lake in North America.
On our visit a few weeks ago the fishermen were practically shoulder to shoulder along preferred portions of the northeastern shoreline at the State Recreation Area. It is an excellent spot for boating and other watersports. Swimming is great, too, so long as you wear sneakers to deal with stones and barnacle shells on the bottom. The water tastes a little bitter but that is only because there is more sulfate than in ocean water, our usual standard for how salt water tastes. It is doing middling fine, thank you.