Is California's Biggest Lake Doomed?

[@SinCityOutdoors]

Anybody visit this place in its prime? Let people know how beautiful it was 👇🏽

[@gavanator86]

Great video guys keep up the great work watching from New Zealand

[@The918OBS]

That water looks Disgusting 😮

[@Timrodriguez899]

Man I was about 16 17 when I whent by ther im 34 now stopped and just checked it out it still was kinda nice then I thought it was the ocean lol town was already junk though sad to say

[@sherryh7485]

My family visited it in 1968 and they really didn't like being in the water. They went quite a distance from the beach, still only up to their knees.

[@jimbo682]

Fishing The S.S was EPIC in 2001-2003. I used to get a few rooms at The Bombay Beach Motel. Cold cuts and Beer at a VFW close by. Now, its turning into a Gold rush for lithium. Keep bringing Great content gentlemen

[@Roger-vz7ol]

That gal that you inserted floating in the Salton Sea is Wonder Hussy. She is a popular KZbinr who used to live in Las Vegas. The bales of hay lying in rows along the banks of the Salton Sea were put there to stop the toxic, deadly dust when the wind comes up out there from reaching the lower parts of California because it has become a hazard if people breathe it in. Good video guys.

[@ldwhitehorn2560]

I can confirm that in the mid 1960's my Dad and his friends took us fishing at the Salton Sea. All I remember is there was a lot of fish caught during that weekend trip. Sad to see the condition has deteriorated. Thanks for the video

[@Dave17101]

I love that you guys go out as a family and get off the beaten paths and explore sites that are a part of our past. Some are good, some are bad, and Salton Sea is just sad. It could have helped get tourists to keep going inland not just to the coast. The playful banter your famoly has between each other had me grinning a few times during the video, you did a good job raising them.

[@goldenrod3215]

Im 60 years old and used to go camping in the mid 80s to early 90s. Fishing for the talapia was the best. They were very good on the bbq. Miss those times. My aunt rita was actually mrs salton sea back in the 70s. She did something back then water skiing, i want to say , she was the 1st to ski side to side in the water. Something like that. I havent been there in 30 years , so i cant wait to watch this show. THX SO MUCH FELL'S FOR ALL THE ENTERTAINMENT YOU GIVE US ON YOU TUBE.

[@elizabethb3769]

I learned to water ski on the Salton Sea back in the mid 80s. It looked pretty abandoned back then.

[@felipediaz6304]

So sad to see a lake like that going waste great video guys👍👍👍👍

[@geraldoyo1]

Thanks for the update on the Salton Sea. I think the real hay day out there was the 50's and 60's. I like your new addition cousin, the one with the salty and toxic X. 🤣 He has a good head on his shoulders too!

[@rem1762]

Pretty good video and coverage of Salton Sea. You guys are on to something with your coverage of various spots in the South West. Quite an adventure.

[@ThePitbulllady1]

There is also an active magma chamber under the Salton Sea, and a growing geothermal field with hot springs, geysers, mud pots, etc., and there are volcanoes in and around the lake which have erupted in geologically-recent history.

[@SirCarlosMusicBMI]

You guys always amaze me by what you learn and bring it to us. Another excellent video. This lake was so awesome in its day. Thank you for taking us on your trips. Great as usual. Blessings,Carlos ✝️🙏❤️😊🇺🇸

[@ksr1177]

We used to ride our quads out there but the smell got so bad from the dead fish we stopped. Thanks again for another awesome video and Happy New Year.

[@Treadondeez]

Im a trucker from Vegas and I’m out there every week and haul hay to texas did not know that most of that gets sent over seas

[@mattdoza13]

My best friend growing up, his grandma lived there and we would go visit as kids and fish in the middle of the night…. Randomly while fishing we would hear a massive BOOM, then not long after water would rush out of tubes that would lay along the lake…. Still never found out what it was. Caught my first tilapia and had my first Milwaukee best out there as a kid.

[@RileyPatterson-bf8ge]

That was the water that fed the lake.

[@The6camp]

In 1988 my wife’s grandpa caught a 37 pound Corvina out of the Salton Sea, which at the time was a world record. Sad to see how bad it is now.

[@SinCityOutdoors]

😳… that’s cool

[@jlopezaaaa]

Local here, in the beginning those bales of hay are used as dust mitigation because as a Salton Sea dries out it exposes dry lake bed that contains all of the toxic chemicals which are from the agricultural runoff. Which is why the Salton Sea is so toxic. Because of all that toxic dust a lot of residents in this area have a lot of respiratory illnesses. They've been trying to do something with the Salton Sea for a very long time now, the most recent measure that they're trying to do is mine lithium. Back when it was at it's Peak I heard the Salton Sea had some very very good shrimp and fish farms. You might still be able to see the dried up fish farms on Google maps by like Mecca and oasis.

[@justsomeguy6474]

Salt Lake is even worse.

[@someguy9778]

I checked Google maps about a year ago, many fish farms around the area.

[@jefferyfidler6344]

Hey Sin City outdoors just got through watching your slab city and your Salton Sea videos As a kid in the 60s when I moved with my parents to Palm Springs, I had the experience with a local fisherman at the Salton Sea. He took my parents and I out to a spot on the edge of a bluff maybe 15 feet above the water, and we had multiple hooks and we started catching multiple fish almost instantly. We were pulling in more fish than we could clean. What does that mean? The fish were Corvina. Corvina needs to be cleaned and gutted the minute you catch them so three of us stopped fishing and my mom continued hauling in fish literally like we were catching with them a net but they were biting the hook. I don’t remember exactly but I think we had about 40 or 50 do I know how big they were? 5-10 pounds maybe. As you can imagine, it was crazy. When Sunny Bono was the congressman for this area, it was his pet project to get the Salton Sea cleaned up. It was gonna cost around $2 billion. As a result, many large corporations, like Marriott and Arnold Schwarzenegger bought a lot o a lot of beachfront property. Of course Sunny died tragically today. There is an authority out there. You might want to check into it still working to get the sea cleaned up. I’m sure the $2 million figure is 10 times more today. as a sidenote, the new river flows from Mexico into the Sea.

[@LynnD584]

My brother and his friends used to go there to water ski in the late fifties early sixties. They would take their boats and camp there for about a week at a time. Easter week usually. They had a ball.

[@dyllan6303]

The chemicals dont evaporate during evaporation, they stay behind while the sea shrinks thus making it even more toxic as time goes on. Love your channel. Support from South Africa! Howzit!

[@AC-bl1rl]

We camped there and fished in the late 90's early 2000's. From the shore we only got a few tilapia, or something similar, but people on boats were bringing in big corvina. They said you had to be real careful in a boat, cause its shallow and the tide shifts a bit. Algae blooms made alot of stuff die, and it stank.

[@brownie4917]

Great video, thank you. I live in the Cat. City, the last I remember it being open and thriving, I was 10 years old today I'm 62. I remember the dried salt in the sand on the beach, the sand was so scalding with that combination but the funnest part was to watch people in amphibious vehicles you know those little teacup cars there was a lot of that on the water and water skiing. The sunburns we would get out there were blistering, but we went to have fun, coppertone was a big thing then but you had to keep putting it on because of that salt, like a hundred times saltier than the ocean.

[@stacyk.8112]

I live about 100 miles from here and I remember about 10 years ago everyone woke up to a weird smell and we were told it was coming from the Salton Sea. A lot of people didn't even know there was a large body of water near us, because no one ever goes there.

[@guyindesert]

The government used to drop bombs in there long long ago to practice.....the chocolate mt. Right across from there has lots of crazy stories ...look into it .......its pretty cool ...keep up the great job

[@guyindesert]

They say secret underground tunnels go to the chocolate mt...military stuff idk .....have a great new years to you all

[@HeartTurnedToStone]

I love these new videos you're doing. I realize there's only so much you can do on Lake Mead. Do you have Lake Shasta in your plans? I'd love to see what's going on with Shasta. I used to go there in the 90's.

[@RonKnapp-k9x]

Tanks for the video, really appreciated it. 😊,All you guys have a Happy New Year 🎉

[@TaaxiCaab]

I drove past this place 1 year ago on my way to Mexico, after Magic Mountain in Los Angeles. I had no idea it even existed until I looked it up. I didn't get out to explore as you guys did.

[@BOBCATT-MEDIA]

great video! I love Sin City Outdoors... @8:35 the artwork on the house has to have been done by famous artist Kenny Scharf. He is amazing and I didn't know about this "installation"

[@javieraguilar894]

Man, you guys are hitting all the cool spots I always drive by!!! Awesome!!!!

[@bluewatershorsessantomenna3290]

I love your travel/history videos. Great job!

[@stevesporer5434]

Last time I was thru that area the smell was terrible to say the least. Great video guys!!!!

[@edpetrocelli2633]

The salton sea was man made by mistake. I used to drive my motorcycle to there and back to san diego for a nice cruise and there was people there and race boats night clubs, all sorts of activity

[@RLG-cj6hg]

The Salton Sea was supposed to be what Palm Springs became

[@jesseshort8]

Happy holidays boys! Keep up the great work.🤙

[@garyhart9250]

I spent allot of time in the 60s and 70s at the sea great fishing and the best duck hunting in the west . It was very busy on the weekends .

[@nickmccallon8520]

It’s so salty my sinker floats…

[@SinCityOutdoors]

😆

[@toymaster5464]

Oh and the Salton Sea was featured in the old sci-fi movie "The Monster that Challenged the World."

[@jimmyc8951]

They are doing the same thing here in Arizona shipping alfalfa over seas

[@Kipitrl]

I used to catch tilapia and croaker on a bare hook and fill gunny sacks in the boat. Pulled huge Corvina out of there as well in the 80's 90's. Used to cruise the boat over the sunken city.

[@michaelhoward-rh9mv]

Appreciate the information on The Salton Sea. It’s also an area I plan to visit on my next trip to Southern California.

[@alexapplegate619]

A saudi arabian company was doing the same thing in the Phoenix Valley. The governor finally canceled their lease and booted them.

[@slacker19761]

Salty an toxic like my ex!!😂😂 best line ever!

[@oceandiv951]

That refuge is also a really popular duck and goose hunting place called Wister.

[@michaelmcgourty9535]

I used to spend my summer vacations there from the mid 1970s all the way through the early 1990s. The corvina fishing was AWESOME. Lots of life. The problem is there isn't hardly any water coming in. The lake was used by CA to establish water rights and was aloud to grow through the 1980s. Now that water has been cut off. BTW, it was always salty, before the flood, it was the great salt sink, and was used as a source of salt, it even had a wood plank road across it. Another useless fact is the fish that were in there came from the north end of the Sea of Cortez, corvina, sargo, yellowfin croaker... The tilapia came from the irrigation canals in the late 1970s. It's a real shame that there is no political will to find a way to save the sea.

[@katherineroberts7736]

I caught corvina bass there in1973 - was great fishing!!! They need to put water back into this resource

[@snaxs2000]

Yea fished it back in the 80s as a kid. Wide open talapia fishing. Good times.

[@403Fauna]

Me and my buddies camped out there in the early 90s. Every line we dropped in the water ended up with a fish on the end of it. The tilapia we'd be reeling in would get hit by Corvina. It was insane!

[@markangelorgs.2773]

We took the kids to the Salton Sea in the late 90's. It was a beautiful thriving place.

[@nathalieproulx1632]

Really interesting video again guys !! Thanks for all of them and Happy New Year to all the family !

[@nicolasochoa9582]

Thank you . I caught some corvina. Salinum killed it off.

[@pokerbosscycler]

AZ governor said NO and canceled l water leases for such use of water.

[@SinCityOutdoors]

I heard about that 💪🏽

[@cooloutdoor7008]

I went there with my family in the late 60's and it was booming. I loved it because I was very young and I could float in the water...lol

[@steven.h0629]

❤ 9:27 for sure, and it's not just Calif.. other states depending on major waterways have sold out to foreign interests.. luckily some are clamping down just recently. You see posts from wasteland countries saying 'stop complaining, you have plenty of waters' .. keep it real! 👍😎✊

[@willeward]

Thats all lake meads water too while your out in that area you should check out some of the aqueduct camps and there are a few vents where you can see the aqueduct water flowing

[@briansaenz4392]

They use the water to dumping areas for dust control near the desert area of palm desert. I use to work in the breakwater ponds in palm springs. Went to Salton Sea regularly as a child ❤ memories

[@stephenschulte8569]

Thanks for the trip. I always look forward to your you tube Videos.

[@janana6786]

My father took us waterskiing there in the late 60s, fishing there too.

[@davebooth5608]

Another great video guys!! Thank you!!

[@goodson77784]

Come to Montana!!!

[@larrykaminski3269]

Another great info blog. Thanks.

[@brj_han]

The lake used to have a shoreline by the houses. That's how far the lake has evaporated. No way to get more water, it was a mistake to begin with, and there's no way anyone would allow Colorado River water to be diverted. Especially with today's water levels. And the residents have been complaining about funding for at least a decade or two, as the state government started closing facilities because of the toxicity...

[@sahhull]

Ive been around there a fair bit when I lived in AZ and worked in Brawley, CA. I remember the smell. Good times but Im so glad Im not there smelling it.

[@ericfielding2540]

Another important geological fact about Bombay Beach is that it is the southern end of the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas Fault goes from Bombay Beach to Cape Mendocino in Northern California. The area to the south has a bunch of smaller faults that connect the San Andreas Fault to the Imperial Fault near Brawley. This is one of the most seismically active places in California.

[@codegame027]

geothermal power generation and Lithium mining are big in the Salton sea area

[@djcordes4352]

I actually drove through there 35 years ago at 13. Yep, not legal, but back then it was very deserted. Such a cool place at one time.

[@ralphwood4814]

Hey I hope you guys have a happy new year be safe out there but have a good one.

[@cotton123ful]

Love you guys even more when you bring more of the guys.

[@barneymiller6204]

That picture you have dated to the 1970's...That looks very much more like the '50's looking at the cars.

[@justindavis1546]

It's salty because there was a salt mine that was flooded when the river broke lose. There is even a town and train under the water. Once the New River started flowing in from Mexico, the sea started taking a turn. The hey bails are there to cut down the contaminated dust that blows. I've skied and pulled many fish out of that lake when I was growing up.

[@Vindode1]

You guys should go see the moving geyser in niland. Its really interesting and it wrecks alot of stuff

[@amateurshooter6054]

Thanks Guys

[@HalfWarrior]

Salty and toxic; like my X; hahaha. Many of us have been there, man!👍🏻👊🏻😁

[@rockiedawnsimpler5102]

I visited the salting sea in 72 and people where leaving then. Lots of business property was closed.

[@Melissa-rx6iv]

I grew up in Palm Springs, not too far from there.

[@davidkolb4721]

This lake has been doomed for years and it’s not getting better

[@rvgrandmacharlotte4604]

I was reading a couple months ago about a company that wants to mine lithium that is under the hot springs around there. It would take millions of gallons of water from the farmers and finish destroying the area around the Salton Sea. Also read before that California who owns the land was considering selling to a developer. All those living there now would have to leave

[@christianadamson5190]

I’ve been hunting that refuge with my dad since I was little, it’s in wister

[@diannemc3179]

Ski Inn has awesome burgers and cold beer.

[@Malthael22]

Salton Sea is such an interesting story. Although it might be moot at this point, I would love to see it restored. I don't think it ever will be unfortunately.

[@IwantUSAback]

I actually skied there in the early 1970's. It was so salty when I got up, I couldn't see. My eyes burned so bad. Also, the bugs at the hotel were out of control. Never went back.!!!

[@single-handed3673]

Salton Sea & Slab City, a true eye opener .

[@garyseaton4619]

Didn't know about the Alfalfa. You should look into Almond and Pistachio farming in Cali. Blue Diamond is making Mega Millions using water that affects all of the Central Valley, Southern CA, as well as AZ... 80% of the Nuts farmed, using millions of gallons of our water, are shipped all over the World...

[@UmmmmmmmWhat]

Look up how much water rights Nestle holds in southern California that just goes into bottled water. They've bought up water rights dating back to the gold rush days just because the amounts tended to be ambiguous.

[@stephenpoe2037]

Back in the 70's I would go Duck and Goose hunting there at the Wildlife area . Wister . I wonder if it's open ?

[@leeroybrown2461]

Yeees was looking forward to part 2 hello from Ireland

[@libertyforamericanow]

9:53 amen dude. We have a rough future ahead. I think trouble is coming.

[@JB-mk4ry]

0:40 Definitely not the 70s lol.

[@valeriefrench9405]

How different is the Salton sea from great Salt lake? More or less salt?

[@samiam5557]

You know, I've seen men walk in this desert sun till they thought every sand hill was a cool pool of water. It's funny, Mr. McCain. It not only looks like water, it tastes like water. I seen a man once... he started poking that dirt down his throat and he didn't even know it was dirt! They start strangling him! It's gonna happen to you, Mr. McCain. And I'm gonna be around to lend a helping hand. Old Stanley's gonna be right here helping poke that nice water dirt down your throat! --The Rifleman show

[@Timrodriguez899]

That shit close to mexico past threw once and never knew i was standing on nothing but fish bones good thing didnt touch that water now i herd it stinks and that dust is poison pretty much

[@dancrabtree5760]

You guys need to come to Idaho and explore 😉

[@fischer5284]

Y’all drove through my home town. Used to have the worlds tallest flag pole.

[@tradermunky1998]

Wow, I remember hearing about that place when I was younger. Sad.

[@letfreedomring43]

Guys, when i was a youth in the late 70's early 80's my stepdad had a place in north shore. We used to fish, water ski it was a lot of fun. I know quite a bit of the history of the sea, so if you have any questions throw them out and I'll do my best to answer them.

[@jessnunez7556]

That area has become a tourist hotspot. The film industry as well. As a lifelong resident of Imperial County this area has been neglected for decades. The great hope right now is the lithium extraction potential. It will be a game changer for the area. The 2 plumes of smoke (actually steam) are from geothermal power plants

[@therooster6104]

Hey gentlemen another great one , very good information 👊 When I was still living in Cali , I was told this place is a cancer positive place if you stay around there to much . Be safe brothers 🤝 keep the videos coming you guys rock 🙏🕊️

[@Ro6entX]

Would be interesting things to be found at the bottom of it ever dries out; lot of world war 2 relics for sure; many aircraft too

[@ChrisNoll]

you got it that's where our water is going, overseas. BTW on the other side of the lake there is a sign that states tilapia grow in abundance in the Salton Sea today and they estimate 90 million in there. Another reason I won't touch tilapia. If you go again stop by the International Banana Museum, good time!

[@tannerjoust1263]

So that’s why folks are kinda salty. 😂

[@desertrat3950]

I was there in the late 60s with my parents and there was a fish die-off even back then, dead fish everywhere. My Uncle Bill who was the fisherman of the family and was catching a lot of fish, said it was the pesticides from the farms. I didn't eat any of that fish and I'm glad to say, I am alive and well at 68.

[@KILLKING110]

the scary part is if the Salton Sea dries up all the toxic chemicals dumped into it before the EPA cracked down on the problem could turn into clouds of toxic chemicals that could blow into the more lived in region towns