Salton Sea In California Faces Ecological Collapse

CALIPATRIA, CA - FEBRUARY 12: In an aerial view from a drone, an irrigation canal lock is seen after it emerged as the water level dropped on February 12, 2021 near Calipatria, California. As the lake continues to evaporate, particularly since the Imperial Irrigation District sold water which helped sustain the lake level to coastal cities in 2003, its increasing salinity has made it unsustainable for the fish and great masses of white pelicans and other migratory birds that fed on them. As more lake bottom becomes exposed, fine particles of toxic dust are becoming a health hazard to local communities. The Salton Sea, once more popular than Yosemite Valley for its sport fishing and water activities, is the latest in a long cycle of major lakes forming in the Salton Basin through Colorado River floods then disappearing through evaporation through the millennia. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)