Salton City is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) in Imperial County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is the largest Imperial County development on the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf ...

coast. It is part of the

El Centro, California El Centro ( Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban ar ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. The population was 3,763 at the 2010 census, up from 978 in 2000. The reported population for 2020 was 5,155. Although planned and developed as a large resort community with an extensive road, water, sewer and power grid capable of supporting 40,000 residents on 12,000 residential lots, demand for property in Salton City fell drastically short of the planners' expectations. According to the 2010 census, 81% of the surveyed lots in Salton City remain undeveloped, and 38% of the habitable residences in Salton City are unoccupied. Despite Salton City's higher population compared to nearby Salton Sea communities such as Bombay Beach and Desert Shores, the eerie, mostly-abandoned appearance of the area has led some to call it a modern

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

History

Salton City was developed in the 1960s and established in 1958 primarily by

M. Penn Phillips M. Penn Phillips, born Marion Phillips, (13 June 1887 – 24 May 1979) was an American entrepreneur and prominent real estate developer, born in Parsons, Kansas. He was founder of the M. Penn Phillips Company which, later, as a subsidiary of Holly ...

and the Holly Corporation, the Texas-based oil refiner and land developer."Salton Sea Timeline"
''The San Diego Union-Tribune''. March 9, 2005. . It was intended to be a resort community on the

, a saline,

endorheic An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes ...

rift lake A rift lake is a lake formed as a result of subsidence related to movement on faults within a rift zone, an area of extensional tectonics in the continental crust. They are often found within rift valleys and may be very deep. Rift lakes may be ...

located directly on the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip (horizonta ...

, yet by 1965 limited development was achieved due to its isolation and lack of local employment opportunities and the downfall of the town began. In the 1970s, most of the buildings constructed along the shoreline, including the city's marina were abandoned due to rising sea elevation. In the 1980s, the

Imperial Irrigation District The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) is an irrigation district that serves the Imperial Valley in Southern California. Established under the State Water Code, the IID supplies roughly of Imperial Valley farmland with raw Colorado River water ...

took proactive water conservation measures to reduce the flow of unused canal water into the Salton Sea. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, as salinity and suspected

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

levels in the Salton Sea increased, the attraction of the Salton Sea as a recreational destination diminished. Most of the original tourist related structures fell during this time, including the Truckhaven Cafe, the Salton Bay Yacht Club hotel and restaurant, and the Holly House motel and restaurant (later renamed Desser House and then the Sundowner). In the 2000s, development in Salton City began to rise as a result of the escalating California housing market. Cheap land and housing costs, improvements to Highway 86, and a casino opened by Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians attracted new residents.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land. This area makes Salton City the largest city or town in terms of land area in the

Imperial Valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

. Salton City is located on relatively flat ground. Several washes flow from the mountains to the west creating small gorges where any flowing run-off will drain into the

. The vegetation consists of mostly sparse desert shrubs; however, in developed areas a variety of palm trees as well as other

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

trees survive. Salton City is positioned between the eastern slope of the Peninsular Ranges and the western coast of the Salton Sea. Earthquakes are an extremely common occurrence around the Salton Sea, and in Salton City, due to dozens of fractured fault lines that run through Imperial County. Salton City is also mere miles from major, destructive fault lines, such as the

Imperial Fault The Imperial Fault Zone is a system of geological faults located in Imperial County in the Southern California region, and adjacent Baja California state in Mexico. It cuts across the border between the United States and Mexico. Geology The I ...

, the

, and the San Jacinto Fault. The Superstition Faults also pose a major risk to the area, as well as the Brawley Seismic Zone, which produces frequent yet mostly non-damaging earthquake swarms. At certain times, this area can experience dozens of felt earthquakes in a time period lasting from one day to over one week. Most of the earthquakes are minor to moderate and pose no hazard due to strict seismic codes; however, the area is notorious for earthquake swarms and other major seismic events. The San Andreas Fault begins at Bombay Beach where the southern terminus of the San Andreas transitions into the Brawley Seismic Zone, about ten miles across the Salton Sea from Salton City. Most residents are fully accustomed to minor and moderate earthquakes, but are prepared for a large one. To the north of the CDP are Salton Sea Beach and Desert Shores. Salton City is approximately 50 miles from the Imperial County seat of

El Centro El Centro (Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the core urban are ...

and 110 and 115 miles respectively from the coastal

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

cities of Oceanside and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

Climate

This area has a large amount of sunshine throughout the year, due to the amount of descending high pressure aloft. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Salton City has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

. However, Salton City experiences its own microclimate due to the proximity of the warm lake waters. Humidity is significantly higher along the shore during the warmer months, from May through September. Its climate can mimic a tropical climate at times, with exceptionally high dewpoints for an arid desert, but this typically happens for only a part of the day, or a few days in a row at the most. Once winds prevail from the northwest, the climate is similar to other areas in Imperial County that are not along the Salton Sea. Salton City itself is extraordinarily dry, and did not measure an inch of rain between September 2016 and August 2021. Any rain is rare, and even moderate rain can cause road closures, roads washed out, and other damage. The area is not equipped to handle any rainfall.

Demographics

Despite a long period of population decline, the population of Salton City has been increasing in recent years.

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

reported that Salton City had a population of 3,743. The population density was . The racial makeup of Salton City was 2,260 (60.1%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 80 (2.1%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 61 (1.6%) Native American, 61 (1.6%) Asian, 5 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1,159 (30.8%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 137 (3.6%) from two or more races. There were 2,368

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino people of any race (62.9%). The Census reported that 3,763 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 1,204 households, out of which 513 (42.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 653 (54.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 134 (11.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 91 (7.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 67 (5.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 12 (1.0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 269 households (22.3%) were made up of individuals, and 133 (11.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13. There were 878

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(72.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.73. The population was spread out, with 1,247 people (33.1%) under the age of 18, 350 people (9.3%) aged 18 to 24, 890 people (23.7%) aged 25 to 44, 813 people (21.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 463 people (12.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.1 males. There were 2,026 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,204 were occupied, of which 833 (69.2%) were owner-occupied, and 371 (30.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 18.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 20.3%. 2,425 people (64.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,338 people (35.6%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

According to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, 978 people, 416 households, and 267 families resided in the CDP. The population density was . There were 730 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.6%

, 0.8%

, 1.9% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1%

, 17.4% from

, and 5.5% from two or more races. 32.5% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 416 households, out of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 2.9. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 30.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $21,563, and the median income for a family was $20,208. Males had a median income of $26,458 versus $4,886 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $14,106. About 26.3% of families and 29.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 71.8% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over. From 2004 to 2007, Salton City experienced a housing boom. Several hundred new houses were built.

Government

Local

Salton City and the neighboring communities of Desert Shores and Salton Sea Beach are governed by the Salton Community Services District (SCSD), a special district per California Code. The SCSD provides

sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding e ...

fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...

emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

, recreational centers,

street lighting A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

, and

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

to Salton City and its neighboring communities. The legislative body of the SCSD is a five-member Board of Directors who are elected every two years. Aside from acting as the architectural committee for architectural compliance with the covenants, conditions, and restrictions of the 80-plus tracts within the district, the SCSD has no land use authority under existing law; that responsibility falls on the Imperial County Board of Supervisors. The SCSD also has no jurisdiction over the unincorporated community of Sea View Beach (formerly the Salton Sea Test Base B-1), which borders the southernmost neighborhoods of Salton City. Fire protection and emergency medical services in Salton City are provided by the Imperial County Fire Department and the Salton Community Services District Volunteer Fire Department. Law enforcement in Salton City is provided by the Imperial County Sheriff's Office North County Patrol Division, which operates a substation in Salton City. Water service is provided by the Coachella Valley Water District.

State and federal

In the state legislature, Salton City is in , and . Federally, Salton City is in .

In media

Literature

The 1996 non-fiction book '' Into the Wild'' by

Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—'' Into the Wild''; ''Into Thin Air''; ''Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat ...

mentions Salton City as a place where Chris McCandless stopped in his travels. J. A. Jance's novel ''Trial by Fire'' is partly set in Salton City. In Sue Grafton's 1982 novel, '' A is for Alibi,'' Kinsey Millhone travels to the Salton Sea (presumably Salton City) for an interview with Greg Fife, who is living in a trailer by the sea. Salton City was a location for a gambling loan in

Norm Macdonald Norman Gene MacdonaldThe capitalization of Norm Macdonald's surname has been inconsistently reported in publications such as ''TV Guide''. Books that discuss him, such as ''Shales'' (2003) and Crawford' (2000), as well as other sources such as ...

's pseudo-biographical book ''Based on a True Story: Not a Memoir''.

Music

"Salton City" is the name of a track on the

Hot Snakes Hot Snakes are an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had found internation ...

' 2000 album '' Automatic Midnight.''

Television

Salton City has been featured in various television series due to its "ghost town"-like nature. Salton City has been featured in the sixteenth episode of the television series ''

Life After People ''Life After People'' is a television series on which scientists, mechanical engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of planet Earth if humanity suddenly disappeared. The featured experts also talk about the impact of hu ...

,'' the "

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

" episode of the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

series '' Off Limits'', an episode of ''Forgotten Planet'', and an episode of the

Viceland Viceland (stylized in all caps), and Vice TV in the United States, are brands used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland launched on February 29, 2016, with two branded cable channels; the American version (rebra ...

series ''Abandoned''. Salton City was featured in an episode of the Discovery Channel series ''

Wheeler Dealers Wheeler Dealers is a British TV series originally produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery Channel in the UK and for Motor Trend in the U.S. The programme is fronted by car enthusiast and former dealer Mike Brewer with mechanics Edd China (Seri ...

'' when the team converted a Land Rover Series II into a "bug-out" vehicle. Salton City was featured in an episode of the television series ''S.W.A.T.''.

References

* William deBuys, Joan Myers, "Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California", UNM Press, 2001,

External links

* The 2006

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

br>''Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea''
(narrated by

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

) documented the lives of the inhabitants of Salton City, as well as ecological issues associated with the Sea
Imperial Irrigation District website
documenting history and water quality of the Salton Sea {{authority control Census-designated places in Imperial County, California Salton Sea El Centro metropolitan area Imperial Valley Planned cities in the United States Populated places in the Colorado Desert Populated places established in the 1950s 1950 establishments in California Census-designated places in California