Home Feature Articles Bombay Beach at the Salton Sea

Bombay Beach at the Salton Sea

18 August 2023

California is home to some of the world’s most spectacular areas of natural beauty. Cruising the Pacific coastline, strolling through Redwood forests, or hiking in Yosemite valley reveals nature in all its glory. But the state is also home to a place where nature has been tragically disrupted. Its beauty is of a very different kind, born of dysfunction, decay, and desolation. It is a window into the post-apocalyptic world that awaits us unless we become better stewards of our environment. Welcome to Bombay Beach.

Don’t wake me for the end of the world unless it has very good special effects.
Roger Zelazny

“Don’t wake me for the end of the world unless it has very good special effects.” ― Roger Zelazny

It rains in Southern California

We are regular visitors to Southern California. Contrary to the assertions of Albert Hammond, it rains occasionally. So, on a recent trip, we travelled to Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea to escape the winter season rain in San Diego. We had learned of the place from searching for spots worth visiting and photographing.

As you can see from the map, our counter-clockwise route took us over the mountains to the Imperial Valley. We began our journey in pouring rain, ran into snow at the summit and finally reached warm spring sunshine.

On reaching El Centro, we headed North. The landscape was rural farmland with the typical Alfalfa fields and grain lifters. Before long, we reached the shores of the Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea

The lake was formed between 1905 and 1907 after a dam broke on a canal on the Colorado River. Just imagine: because of pure sloppiness, for almost two years, the entirety of the river ran into a low-lying depression in the northern Imperial Valley.

Sitting at over 220 ft (almost 70 m) below sea level, with an area of 890 km² or 343 square miles, the lake is still the largest in California.

Its location, the Imperial Valley, is, in my opinion, one of the most inhospitable places imaginable. It rarely rains and becomes unbearably hot in summer. Daily maximum temperatures of over 45 °C, 113 °F are practically standard. Despite this, as an alluvial area of the Colorado River, it is intensively used for agriculture. Irrigation water is taken from the once powerful river. Downstream in Mexico, it is a slender trickle, no longer even forming an estuary.

In the 50/60/70s, the lake was one of the hot getaway spots for the greater Los Angeles area. The list of celebrities who spent time there is a who’s who of the movie industry of that era.

However, the lake has no outlet. The brutal summer temperatures referred to above result in extensive evaporation, leading to relentless salinization. The few tributary rivers transport increasing amounts of fertiliser residues into the water body. In addition, there are high concentrations of selenium in the soil and dust.

On the north shore at Mecca are huge date palm plantations. The trees stand in precise lines, as if on a Russian parade ground.

The annual rate of fish death (important for the ecosystem, no kidding) and resulting stench, along with perennial dust storms, made the area highly unattractive. The towns around the lake, except for the northern shore, are mostly abandoned and exude the charm of a gigantic lost place.

Bombay Beach

We reached the sign for Bombay Beach after driving around halfway along the east shore of the lake. We drove by a grim-looking eatery and entered a collection of trailer park houses, regular houses and heaps of rusting metal and furniture in various stages of decay. There was Graffiti everywhere. Bombay Beach gives you an idea of what a post-apocalyptic Earth might look like. Scenes from Mad Max could have been filmed here.

At an altitude of -68 m, -223 ft, the remaining residents occupy the lowest-lying community in the country. The population of Bombay Beach has declined steadily, dropping to as low as 231 residents in 2020. Homeowners tend to drive electric golf carts because the nearest gas station is twenty miles away. It has a single bar/restaurant, the incongruously named “Ski Inn”, and lots of abandoned-looking homes and trailers. It is virtually impossible to tell which of the home sites are inhabited and which are not.

As we walked around the dusty roads searching for the beach, a strange dog came charging for us. We escaped to the safety of the car. So did a family that had followed us.

Spooky action at a distance

Later, we drove slowly through the town over its dusty dirt roads. We caught glimpses of moving curtains when passing by. It was undoubtedly a spooky place: one thing if visiting a theme park, quite another if living there.

Adjacent to the beach and the former harbour is a zone of funny, sad and sarcastic installations. A biennial, attracting a diversity of artists, is usually held in spring but was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Most certainly, the COVID-19 restrictions have not contributed to the prosperity of the place. Some of the residents are probably only here to this day because they lack the resources to move. The place is often referred to as a living ghost town. Nevertheless, some people seem to enjoy hanging out at the beach.

The Ski Inn at Bombay Beach

We explored the area of the former port and then had a burger at the Ski Inn. In fact, this is the only place you can get a beer and a burger. They were out of fries, which would usually accompany the burger. We were grateful to be spared the temptation of sharp-edged, fried-potato rods that can tear your palate open!

We even saw a mouse running over the floor in the establishment. Apparently, we were the only ones who noticed it. Maybe the mouse didn’t know that the French fries were out.

The crowd at the Ski Inn alone was worth photographing.

Urban decay

Fans of Lost Places and Urban Explorers will get their money’s worth here. All others may decide for themselves whether this place is worth a detour. For us, it radiated the fascination of the bizarre and morbid.