- The Salton Sea

Lizzette is playing on her bicycle as strong winds are blowing across her... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - The Salton sea is a looming environmental and public...

The Salton sea is a looming environmental and public health disaster. The... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Lizzette and her mum are playing after schools, at the...

Lizzette and her mum are playing after schools, at the family back yard,... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Lizzette shows of a school project about protecting the...

Lizzette shows of a school project about protecting the planet.

Miriam Jeremiz with her children Lizette and Lihan.

- The Salton Sea - Dead palms line Yacht club drive and parking lot that...

Dead palms line Yacht club drive and parking lot that used to be the access... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - The Salton Sea is approximately twice as salty as the...

The Salton Sea is approximately twice as salty as the Pacific ocean, the sea... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - A Tilapia skeleton lays as a reminder of the huge die...

A Tilapia skeleton lays as a reminder of the huge die offs that are seen... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Sebastian and Thalia brought their son junior form...

Sebastian and Thalia brought their son junior form nearby Coachella, to see... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Donna and Mike's house reflects in the Canal they...

Donna and Mike's house reflects in the Canal they live next too- once... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - The canal water behind John and Donna used to reach...

The canal water behind John and Donna used to reach above their heads where... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - A resident of Desert Shores holds a picture taken in...

A resident of Desert Shores holds a picture taken in 1996 showing where... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - A Jet Ski lays slowly degrading, cut off from direct...

A Jet Ski lays slowly degrading, cut off from direct access to the Salton... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - The sea's edge is a bright orange red as the water...

The sea's edge is a bright orange red as the water is hyper saline... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Mayra sits with her baby daughter who has a cold, Mayra...

Mayra sits with her baby daughter who has a cold, Mayra has spent her whole... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - When Martha has to go outside during storm days, she...

When Martha has to go outside during storm days, she wears a dust mask... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Many people who work in agriculture live in trailer...

Many people who work in agriculture live in trailer parks, that is too often... READ ON

Fields of dates in the Coachella valley.

- The Salton Sea - Farm workers are doing clearance in a date palm grove...

Farm workers are doing clearance in a date palm grove near Coachella. 40... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - A farm labors picking and sorting dates, 80 % of...

A farm labors picking and sorting dates, 80 % of americas date are produced... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - A farm worker is weeding a field of chilies, that are...

A farm worker is weeding a field of chilies, that are kept warm by covering... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - A field is being irrigated near Coachella. This is the...

A field is being irrigated near Coachella. This is the irrigations laced... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - The Coachella canal as it winds its way in to the...

The Coachella canal as it winds its way in to the Coachella valley north of... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Agricultural run off and drainage is flowing to an...

Agricultural run off and drainage is flowing to an already murky river... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Children play in the play ground at the Salton City Sea...

Children play in the play ground at the Salton City Sea View Elementary... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - The janitor at the Sea View elementary school in Salton...

The janitor at the Sea View elementary school in Salton City shows the color... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - A geothermal plant at the south eastern shore of the...

A geothermal plant at the south eastern shore of the Salton Sea. More plants... READ ON

- The Salton Sea - Chris Schoneman Project Leader at The Sonny Bono Salton...

Chris Schoneman Project Leader at The Sonny Bono Salton Sea National... READ ON

The sunset over the Salton sea,

Click link to Story in The High country news
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The Salton sea is a looming environmental and public health disaster. The Salton Sea’s shoreline is receding, exposing a dusty lakebed known as the “playa.” This sandy substance holds a century’s worth of agricultural runoff, including DDT, ammonia, possibly carcinogenic herbicides like trifluralin and other chemicals. Its windborne dust travels across Southern California and into Arizona, but nearby communities — many of them populated by Latino farmworkers — bear the heaviest burden.

Over tens of thousands of years, as it meandered across the West, the Colorado River occasionally filled the Salton Sea. The lake’s most recent iteration formed between 1905 and 1907, when an engineering disaster diverted the river into the basin. It has since been fed largely by agricultural runoff from the Imperial and Coachella valleys. It soon became clear that salinity levels would continue increasing. Since then, millions more people have begun relying on the Colorado River, even as climate change threatens the waterway. In response to competing demands, the 2003 agreement diverted water from the Imperial Valley. That meant that the lake’s level was guaranteed to drop.

Mette Lampcov
Documentary Photographer

- The Salton Sea

Mette Lampcov Photography

Mette Lampcov is a freelance documentary photographer from Denmark, and is currently based in the greater Los Angeles area.

Mette Lampcov Documentary Photographer

- The Salton Sea

Mette Lampcov Photography

Mette Lampcov is a freelance documentary photographer from Denmark, and is currently based in the greater Los Angeles area.

Mette Lampcov
Documentary Photographer