Salton Sea

In many ways, the decay of the Salton Sea is the natural conclusion of the corruption of urban living. The problems of the Salton Sea have always revolved around water rights.

Caught in the awe of the day’s events, I couldn’t help but worry that the pieces of this day — the pastel mountains, the van of childhood friends — would be the happiest ones of my life.

The Coachella Valley is a 45 mile-long and 15 mile-wide depression surrounded by the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains to the west and southwest, respectively, and the San Bernardino Mountains to the north. The foul-smelling Salton Sea, an accidental man-made lake, silently asserts its acrid presence southeast of the valley.