The Salton Sea’s Beauty and Ugly

The Salton Sea is an interesting area and not only for birds. I saw so many cool things and got some great photos so I thought I would share some.

In some instances the setting of the Salton Sea is a bit erie. The water is super calm and so very blue. That coupled with the stillness of the area and this creepy dead tree dripping with cormorant nests all gave this scene a bit of a creepy quality.


ERIE CALM WATER

I found this old dilapidated building and I thought it was beautiful. With the setting sun throwing a soft glow on its faded red dirt facade and the blue ski with wispy clouds behind I got out and took a few shots.


AN OLD DILAPIDATED BUILDING

Red Hill is a park jutting out in an island off the sea. Named for its red dirt I found it beautifully isolated and tranquil.


RED HILL

Last time I visited I followed the directions of a ranger and found this long few mile stretch of road right on the edge of the sea. To the left was the sea and its beauty and to the right was wetlands and vegetation. Because this road is used so little I took the drive very slow and used many opportunities to get out and take photos.


THE ROAD THAT FOLLOWS THE SEA

Randomly in a few areas around the sea there are salt deposits and mud flats. I stumbled upon this volcano shaped mudflat. Pools of bubbling mud is just under the surface, the sound is actually quite erie. This pool of mud breaks through the ground occasionally making these six foot mini volcanoes. COOL.


VALCANO MUD FLATS

The only sad thing about the Salton Sea is that it stinks. The area is full of a sulphur-like element (think rotten egg smell), then there is a problem that the sea is stagnant as in there is no outlet, there is a certain algae that decomposes in the sea (ewww) and then hundreds of birds and the inevitable dead fish carcases they leave around. All added together the sea does not have the best aroma.


DEAD FISH

At one point on my drive from one location to another I had to stop and get out of my car when I saw this HUGE FIELD of flowers. I just thought it was beautiful and I wanted to get a great photo, but when I stepped out of my car I had to physically restrain myself from jumping in and burying my face into those flowers. IT SMELLED SO DAMN GOOD! Better than anything you can imagine and after a day at the Salton Sea, see dead fish smell above, it was like smelling heaven. Seriously I pictured in my head a Julian Andrews moment running through the fields of flowers, singing ‘the hills are alive’ at the top of my lungs like a mental patient.


FIELDS OF WILDFLOWERS

I almost forgive the terrible smell of the Salton sea when I get sunsets like these.


THE INCREDIBLE SUNSETS

Both times I have been here I have gotten incredible sunset skies and I am incredibly thankful. I think it is the thing that I miss most about not living back on the east coast where I grew up, seasons and clouds.