Inland Sea~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, Sunsets, Wild Life

The Salton Sea,

is quieter by April,

most of the wintering birds,

have flown north.

The still sea waits,

for the punishing summer sun.

A few stragglers remain,

not yet forced by heat to flee.

Cheers to you from The Salton Sea~

143 thoughts on “Inland Sea~”

    1. Please, before you visit, let me know, so I can give you tips on where to go. It makes a big difference, as the sea is a complicated place, with dystopian towns, pesticide pollution problems, and wildlife preserves teeming with birds in season and no people. Any trip to such a complicated area requires careful research beforehand. It is not a normal vacation destination by any means დ

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    1. Let me know before you go, so I can give you some tips. The sea is a complicated place, with austere beauty, serious pollution problems, and dystopian areas. so research is crucial before a visit. Have a great weekend Teresa დ

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      1. Thanks so much for the offer to give me more details before we go, Cindy! I will definitely ask you. I know my older kid has done reading on the area (since he’s doing ecology for his grad degree) but it’s always best to learn from someone who has actually been somewhere many times. xx

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    1. It is huge and varies dramatically from place to place. Some areas are desolate, and others teem with wildlife, depending on the season. Enjoy our sunny weekend weather Fabio & thanks for stopping by.

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    1. Thank you Emma. It is such a different sort of place. Not beautiful in any classic sense, but unique and beautiful, none the less. I visit several times each year. There are no people, just birds and wildlife, so I feel quite at home. დ

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        1. Clear combustibles, and clear more. We are just starting the annual process. We have to keep at it until summer hits full force and things stop growing, but there are a lot of dead orchards around us now, and the owner is not responsible and will not clear, so this is a bad scenario.

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            1. Probably. I think I will take some photos and send them to the local fire department prevention program. The governor just allocated 1/2 billion dollars to fire prevention efforts due to the 150 year drought issue. We’ll see if the money will be used as intended. It often isn’t, in my experience.

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    1. The sea is polluted with agricultural runoff and saline levels are rising as the sea evaporates. Efforts are currently underway to save the sea. It is a man made sea and used to support many fish species. Now desert pup fish, which are endangered and tolerate high salinity, and some tilapia still survive. დ

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  22. Crisp pictures of the place. It seems there are many many kinds of bird there. I am not sure about the heat but I am sure they are good place as birds are there.

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    1. I go to the sea because I can see exotic bird species that are not endemic where I live. The sea is polluted, but efforts are underway to clean it up. It is a harsh environment and very few people visit, except for the odd bird, that likes birds, like me! 😉 Hope you are safe and well my friend დ

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    1. Thank you! Looks can be a bit deceiving as you know. The Salton Sea is in the process of being restored. It is polluted with agricultural runoff and the saline content is increasing. Ballot Initiatives were passed and money allocated to try and save the sea. Efforts are currently underway to help. The nature preserve area that I photograph is set aside for the birds. Crops are planted for them and fields are flooded for them. The birds spend fall and winter here and then head to where you live. They are protected a bit from the pollution because they only stay here for a few months and animals that live shorter lives accumulate less toxins in their bodies over time.

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    1. You have obviously been to the sea, since you used that term. I didn’t want to do another post talking about the pollution, the evaporation, the pesticide laden silt’s impact on the health of the people who live by the sea, the declining fish and bird numbers, the dystopian atmosphere, because I have done many of these posts in the past, and don’t want to be repetitive, but people are talking about visiting the sea after seeing the photos, so I guess I need to do another post as a warning. Yes the wildlife areas teem with birdlife and wildlife, and there is austere, non-human habitated beauty here, but the sea is also an environmental cry for help.

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    1. It is evaporating, and we are anticipating a 150 year historic drought this summer, after many years of drought now, so the salinity in the sea and the pesticides runoff in it will further concentrate. Ballot initiatives were passed and efforts are underway to save the sea, but the drought is continuing and worsening, bird numbers are declining, and unless something drastic changes, the sea will continue to deteriorate.

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    1. Thank you Alison. It is beautiful, but not in any standard or conventional way. It is a very different sort of place which is why so few people visit and why I love it დ

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    1. Thank you Jane. Way too dry this year. Only the ocotillos are struggling with blooms. So Cal is entering an historic 150 year drought this year, after so many years of drought, this is terrible for the state and the sea. The sea will evaporate even more and salinity and pesticides will further concentrate, even the endangered pupfish that tolerate the salinity will be in trouble.

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        1. Oh my goodness. So we are neighbors now! Welcome! My daughter, son in law and twins grandsons, also made the move from NorCal to SoCal in the past year. The heat and the drought are both overwhelming, so I understand entirely how you feel. Our governor has allocated 1/2 billion dollars for fire prevention efforts, so hopefully we will see some results from this.

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            1. How nice! And yes, especially with the pandemic, having family close became even more important. I am glad you are here Jane and share your hopes for a peaceful spring, summer and fall.

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  29. The Great Basin, not unlike the Salton Sea, is a captured drainage, that, were it to begin to rain and rain, would fill up and flood in a way Noah would wax nostalgic for. The return of the inland seas is probably not our due, but someday, someday…

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    1. Most of the sea is a dystopian cautionary tale, but the wildlife preserves are teeming with bird and wildlife seasonally, which is so hopeful. Ballot propositions have been passed, and efforts are underway to save the sea, but California, after so many years of drought, is entering an historic 150 year drought this year, so the sea will further evaporate and the salinity and pesticides will concentrate. We, and the sea, need rain, rain and more rain.

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    1. It is east of Borrego Springs in Southern California. Please if you decide to go, communicate with me first. I have posted so much about the pollution, the poverty and the restoration efforts of the sea, that I don’t want to be repetitive. It is a complicated place. Check this out to get an idea of what you would be dealing with to go here: https://cindyknoke.com/2018/06/17/paradise-lost/comment-page-1/
      It is beautiful, austere, polluted, dystopian place, with wildlife preserves in certain areas that are empty of humans and filled with wildlife. I love the sea, but it is not a typical vacation destination by any means. If you do decide to visit, you can stay in Borrego Springs and drive out for day trips to the sea. But beware and research carefully.

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      1. I’ll make sure to get in touch with you first. TBH right now all I can think is Paris. PLease! Please! (To the French governement) “get your act together… We’re supposed to go in July, but I still see it a very close call.
        (Hopping to your post)

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              1. It’s all right. It was a long shot anyway. Thing is I’d like to help this person but all my contacts (in Marketing precisely) are retired…
                Take care Cindy. 🙏🏻

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  33. Was für ein wunderbares Überwinterungsort für Zugvögel. Es muss im Winter ein fantastisches Bird watching Gebiet sein. Ist es ein Meer (Sea) oder ein Seen- Gebiet?.
    Vögel beobachten war früher eine Lieblingsbeschäftigung von mir. Ich kannte sehr viele Singvögel und war einige Male oft in der Camargue und in der Bretagne unterwegs, um Vögel zu beobachten.
    Meine Liebe Freundin, ich wünsche Dir einen herrlichen sonnigen Sonntag. Ernst
    Hab einen schönen Sonntag, meine Freundin. Da möchte ich mal

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    1. Das Beobachten von Vögeln ist eine meiner Lieblingsbeschäftigungen in der Natur. Wir teilen dieses Interesse, mein Freund. Das Saltonmeer ist ein Binnensalzwassersee im südlichsten Teil Südkaliforniens. Es ist ein Zwischenstopp für Zugvögel auf dem Pacific Flyway. Etwa eine Milliarde Vögel ziehen jedes Jahr auf dem Flugweg. Es erstreckt sich von Patagonien bis Alaska. Ich besuche mehrmals im Jahr das Meer, um exotische Vögel zu sehen, die in Südkalifornien nicht endemisch sind. Es ist eine raue Umgebung, in der keine Menschen leben, nur Vögel und wild lebende Tiere. Ich besuche sie daher sehr gerne. Bleib sicher und gesund Ernst. Ich höre immer gerne von Ihnen დ

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    1. You are most welcome. The sea is still in trouble, evaporating and polluted. The sections in these photographs are in the wildlife preserves where they grow crops and flood fields especially for the birds. დ

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  36. Great photos, Cindy. You captured the stillness. I only ever visited the Salton Sea in summer, when shimmering waves of heat came off the roads and there was a distinctive odor.

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    1. Yes. The odor of Sulphur and evaporating chemical salts. That is the odor of the middle/northern parts of sea, most pronounced at Salton City and Bombay City, and most intense in summer. It is different at the southern part of the sea where the two Sonny Bono Wildlife Preserves are. I prefer unit 1. Here fields are flooded and planted for the birds and there is lots of wildlife. The migratory birds are here in fall, winter and very early spring, before the heat hits. Summer is exactly as you described. I have found some of the northern parts of the sea interesting in the summer, near the yacht club, for photographing the deserted, stark landscape and sea. Once there was a solitary brown bubby there in the mid-summer heat, which was quite a surprise. Lots of The Salton Sea look and feel like a stark post-apocalypse movie. დ

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  41. Hello, popular Traveller Lady, as always I had to scroll and scroll to find my place in your comment section! And, as always, I wallowed in a wee haven of peace while tasting your photos. Sending a hug from locked down Toronto. Be safe and well, Cindy. xx 🙂

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