Friday, July 1, 2016

Salton Sea 1 - Shoreline

Photos from the eastern shore of the Salton Sea, a large saline lake in southern California's Imperial Valley.  Formed in the rift of the San Andreas fault by the Colorado River, the waters are trapped with no further outlet to the sea.

The Salton Sea is also well known as a home to numerous species of resident and migratory birds. Here pelicans brood over the murky waters on perches of deadwood.

Camera just happened to catch the butterfly.

The alternating cycles of evaporation and fill make for a constantly shifting shoreline.

These cycles, along with chemicals and salts in the run-off from nearby agriculture, also make for increasingly saline and toxic water.  Mass fish kills are regular event.  Some beaches are made entirely from bleached, crushed fish bones rather than sand.

Pectoral girdle of what looks like the remains of a crane: sternum, coracoids, and furcula (wishbone).  Also present is a wing with humerus, radius, ulna, and a few feathers.

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