Small Scopes

Nature watching at the Salton Sea

The Salton Sea shimmers in the sun, brown foam and white bubbles skimming its surface. At 367 square miles, the inland lake is the largest in California and offers more than its share of natural beauty.

A recent field trip sponsored by the San Bernardino County Museum and led by its director Bob McKernan proved to be a stellar day of education, bird-watching and lake looking up close and personal.

We set out from the museum at the early hour of 7 a.m., many of us still rubbing the sleep from our eyes. But the two-hour drive to the sea, located southeast of Indio, gave our two vanloads of passengers a chance to catch a few winks and fortify ourselves for the day¹s activities.

Along the way, McKernan, a trained biologist, pointed out the local mountain ranges in between which the Salton Sea nestles and explained the lake¹s importance as a vital link for migratory waterfowl and shore birds along the Pacific Flyway.

...

He pointed out the shoreline markings of an ancient lake, known as Lake Cahuilla, on the rocks above the current sea. In 1853, a geologist surveying the area for a transcontinental railroad found these watermarks and other evidence pointing to a pre-existing body of water in what was then a dry basin. Indigenous peoples told him that a large lake filled with fish and birds had filled the valley before a cataclysmic flood drove them from their homes.

"Lake Cahuilla was filled with fresh water for thousands of years, but started drying up about 400 years ago," McKernan said. The sink area lay dry for many years until the current Salton Sea was created by accident. In 1904, a temporary levee along the Colorado River was breached, filling the Salton basin with flood waters. Water continued to flow into the area until 1907. The name Salton Sea, derived from the high saline content of the lake, was first used in 1905, researchers say.

posted by Tako John @ 10:08 AM