Salton Riviera 1958 Vintage Men’s Hoodie

The Salton Sea is the largest lake in California by surface area, and its very existence is a total accident. In 1905, flooding caused the Colorado River to spill over the man-made irrigation canals to pour into what was then known as the Salton Sink – a 40-mile-long dry desert basin. It took two years to stop the flooding, during which the Salton Sink had filled up and formed the Salton Sea. it didn’t take long before people began flocking to this desert oasis as a weekend getaway to picnic and play in the lake. While smaller settlements had popped up over the years, Salton City was established in 1958 and the town’s population quickly grew to 15,000 people, with thousands more arriving on the weekends. The Salton Riviera was the single largest development on the lake that promised resort style living with boating and golf at the center of the community. Sadly, this desert paradise wouldn’t last as this accidental oasis was doomed by nature and the presence of development was only helping bring about its end. The water in the self-contained Salton Sea is full of salts, selenium, and fertilizers and as it drains through the soil, the water leaches out ancient salt deposits that also raise the salinity. Evaporation in the desert heat further concentrates the salt, making the lake increasingly inhospitable to wildlife. By the end of the ’70s, fish started dying off and bird populations declined. The smell became horrific, and the ‘miracle in the desert’ quickly became a ghost town of epic proportions, as the formerly sandy beaches became bright white with the bones of fish and birds.