The Salton Sea Centennial Symposium

Book excerpt: This volume deals with many aspects of the physical and chemical limnology of the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake and a lake that may soon to be the object of a multi-billion dollar restoration project. Formed in 1905 by an accidental breaching of outtake structures on the Colorado River, and maintained since then by large and steady inflows of agricultural wastewaters, it has long served as an important habitat for fish and waterbirds and as a major recreational area for people. Highlly eutrophic and with a salinity that is steadily rising and now nearly 50 g/L, it is a lake in great trouble. Most fish species have disappeared, and large fish and bird dieoffs have been common in recent decades. Many of the papers in this volume represent studies undertaken with the aim of informing the re-engineering of this ecosystem so that its value to wildlife and man can be restored or enhanced.