Bibliography of the Salton Sea

This is a bibliography of the Salton Sea. It lists scholarly and journalistic works on the sea's geology, ecology, water policy, history, and surrounding communities.

The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline endorheic lake in Riverside and Imperial counties in Southern California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough, which stretches to the Gulf of California in Mexico. The lake is about at its widest and longest. The sea has a surface area at . The Salton Sea became a resort destination in the 20th century, but saw die-offs of fish and birds in the 1980s due to contamination from farm runoff, and clouds of toxic dust in the 21st century as evaporation exposed parts of the lake bed.

Works listed here are cited in the notes or bibliographies of scholarly sources. Each is published by an academic or major press, written by a recognized expert, or substantially reviewed in scholarly journals; borderline cases are omitted. A selection of primary sources are included. Many of the books below carry their own bibliographies; see the Further reading section for other bibliographies, and the External links section for historical sites, academic sites, and museums.

Citations follow APA style. Book have citations to academic journal or mainstream published reviews when available. For books only partly about the subject, relevant chapter or section titles are provided when useful and available. Translators of the original-language edition are included when possible. In cases where a title or name has appeared with more than one English spelling, the most recent published form is used and a footnote documents any earlier title under which the work appeared.

Science and ecology Geology and earth science Adams, P. M., Lynch, D. K., Buckland, K. N., Johnson, P. D., & Tratt, D. M. (2017). Sulfate mineralogy of fumaroles in the Salton Sea geothermal field, Imperial County, California. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 347, 15–43. Babcock, E. A. (1974). Geology of the northeast margin of the Salton Trough, Salton Sea, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 85(3), 321–332. Brothers, D. S., Driscoll, N. W., Kent, G. M., Baskin, R. L., Harding, A. J., & Kell, A. M. (2022). Seismostratigraphic analysis of Lake Cahuilla sedimentation cycles and fault displacement history beneath the Salton Sea, California, USA. Geosphere, 18(4), 1354–1376. Buckles, J. E., Kashiwase, K., & Krantz, T. (2002). Reconstruction of prehistoric Lake Cahuilla in the Salton Sea Basin using GIS and GPS. Hydrobiologia, 473(1–3), 55–57. Elders, W. A., & Sass, J. H. (1988). The Salton Sea Scientific Drilling Project. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 93(B11), 12953–12968. Lohman, R. B., & McGuire, J. J. (2007). Earthquake swarms driven by aseismic creep in the Salton Trough, California. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 112(B4), B04405. MacDougal, D. T. (1914). The Salton Sea: A study of the geography, the geology, the floristics, and the ecology of a desert basin. Carnegie Institution of Washington. McKibben, M. A., & Elders, W. A. (1985). Fe-Zn-Cu-Pb mineralization in the Salton Sea geothermal system, Imperial Valley, California. Economic Geology, 80(3), 539–559. Muffler, L. J. P., & White, D. E. (1969). Active metamorphism of upper Cenozoic sediments in the Salton Sea geothermal field and the Salton Trough, southeastern California. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 80(2), 157–182. Philibosian, B., Fumal, T., & Weldon, R. (2011). San Andreas fault earthquake chronology and Lake Cahuilla history at Coachella, California. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 101(1), 13–38. Phukan, A., Braje, T. J., Rockwell, T. K., & Ullah, I. (2019). Shorelines in the desert: Mapping fish trap features along the southwest coast of ancient Lake Cahuilla, California. Advances in Archaeological Practice, 7(4), 325–336. Robinson, P. T., Elders, W. A., & Muffler, L. J. P. (1976). Quaternary volcanism in the Salton Sea geothermal field, Imperial Valley, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 87(3), 347–360. Rockwell, T. K., Meltzner, A. J., Haaker, E. C., & Madugo, D. (2022). The late Holocene history of Lake Cahuilla: Two thousand years of repeated fillings within the Salton Trough, Imperial Valley, California. Quaternary Science Reviews, 282, 107456. Skinner, B. J., White, D. E., Rose, H. J., & Mays, R. E. (1967). Sulfides associated with the Salton Sea geothermal brine. Economic Geology, 62(3), 316–330. Taira, T., Nayak, A., Brenguier, F., & Manga, M. (2018). Monitoring reservoir response to earthquakes and fluid extraction, Salton Sea geothermal field, California. Science Advances, 4(1), e1701536. Waters, M. R. (1983). Late Holocene lacustrine chronology and archaeology of ancient Lake Cahuilla, California. Quaternary Research, 19(3), 373–387.

Water and aquatic ecology Byron, E. R., & Ohlendorf, H. M. (2007). Diffusive flux of selenium between lake sediment and overlying water: Assessing restoration alternatives for the Salton Sea. Lake and Reservoir Management, 23(5), 630–636. Bradley, T. J., & Yanega, G. M. (2018). Salton Sea: Ecosystem in transition. Science, 359(6377), 754. Bullock, J., & Gude, V. G. (2023). Economics of brine desalination for communities near the Salton Sea geothermal field, California, USA. Environmental Earth Sciences, 82(1), 3. Busse, M. M., McKibben, M. A., Stringfellow, W., Dobson, P., & Stokes-Draut, J. R. (2024). Impact of geothermal expansion and lithium extraction in the Salton Sea known geothermal resource area (SS-KGRA) on local water resources. Environmental Research Letters, 19(10), 104011. Byron, E. R., & Ohlendorf, H. M. (2007). Diffusive flux of selenium between lake sediment and overlying water: Assessing restoration alternatives for the Salton Sea. Lake and Reservoir Management, 23(5), 630–636. Cantor, A., & Knuth, S. (2018). Speculations on the postnatural: Restoration, accumulation, and sacrifice at the Salton Sea. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 51(2), 527–544. Carpelan, L. H. (1958). The Salton Sea: Physical and chemical characteristics. Limnology and Oceanography, 3(4), 373–386. Cohn, J. P. (2000). Saving the Salton Sea. BioScience, 50(4), 295. de Koff, J. P., Anderson, M. A., & Amrhein, C. (2008). Geochemistry of iron in the Salton Sea, California. Hydrobiologia, 604(1), 111–121. Evermann, B. W. (1916). Fishes of the Salton Sea. Copeia, (34), 61. Freund, H., Maltz, M. R., Swenson, M. P., Topacio, T. M., Montellano, V. A., Porter, W., & Aronson, E. L. (2022). Microbiome interactions and their ecological implications at the Salton Sea. California Agriculture, 76(1), 16–26. Hawley, E. R., Schackwitz, W., & Hess, M. (2014). Metagenomic sequencing of two Salton Sea microbiomes. Genome Announcements, 2(1), e01208-13. Jones, B. A., Wang, J., & Fleck, J. (2026). Sending agricultural water to the Salton Sea to improve public health? An integrated agri-hydro-health economic analysis. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 13(2), 389–424. Kjelland, M. E., & Swannack, T. M. (2018). Salton Sea days of future past: Modeling impacts of alternative water transfer scenarios on fish and bird population dynamics. Ecological Informatics, 43, 124–145. Lange, C. B., & Tiffany, M. A. (2002). The diatom flora of the Salton Sea, California. Hydrobiologia, 473(1–3), 179–201. Levers, L. R., Skaggs, T. H., & Schwabe, K. A. (2019). Buying water for the environment: A hydro-economic analysis of Salton Sea inflows. Agricultural Water Management, 213, 554–567. Levers, L., Story, S. D., & Schwabe, K. (2020). Boons or boondoggles: An assessment of the Salton Sea water importation options. California Agriculture, 74(2), 73–79. Moreau, M. F., Surico-Bennett, J., Vicario-Fisher, M., Crane, D., Gerads, R., Gersberg, R. M., & Hurlbert, S. H. (2007). Contaminants in tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) from the Salton Sea, California, in relation to human health, piscivorous birds and fish meal production. Hydrobiologia, 576(1), 127–165. Mulvaney, D., Blair, J. J. A., & Cantor, A. (2025). Sunrise at the Salton Sea: Environmental justice, land use change, and hydrosocial dynamics of solar energy transitions in the Imperial Valley, California. Sustainability Science, 20(4), 1433–1452. Riedel, R., & Costa-Pierce, B. A. (2005). Feeding ecology of Salton Sea tilapia (Oreochromis spp.). Bulletin, Southern California Academy of Sciences, 104(1), 26–36. Rightnar, J., & Dinar, A. (2020). The welfare implications of bankruptcy allocation of the Colorado River water: The case of the Salton Sea region. Water Resources Management, 34(8), 2353–2370. Rogerson, A., & Hauer, G. (2002). Naked amoebae (Protozoa) of the Salton Sea, California. Hydrobiologia, 473(1–3), 161–177. Saiki, M. K. (1990). Elemental concentrations in fishes from the Salton Sea, southeastern California. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 52(1–2), 41–56. Tiffany, M. A., Barlow, S. B., Matey, V. E., & Hurlbert, S. H. (2001). Chattonella marina (Raphidophyceae), a potentially toxic alga in the Salton Sea, California. Hydrobiologia, 466(1–3), 187–194. Tiffany, M. A., González, M. R., Swan, B. K., Reifel, K. M., Watts, J. M., & Hurlbert, S. H. (2007). Phytoplankton dynamics in the Salton Sea, California, 1997–1999. Lake and Reservoir Management, 23(5), 582–605. Tiffany, M. A., Swan, B. K., Watts, J. M., & Hurlbert, S. H. (2002). Metazooplankton dynamics in the Salton Sea, California, 1997–1999. Hydrobiologia, 473(1–3), 103–120. Vogl, R. A., & Henry, R. N. (2002). Characteristics and contaminants of the Salton Sea sediments. Hydrobiologia, 473(1–3), 47–54. Warwick, R. M., Dexter, D. M., & Kuperman, B. (2002). Freeliving nematodes from the Salton Sea. Hydrobiologia, 473(1–3), 121–128.

Wildlife ecology Anderson, T. W., Tiffany, M. A., & Hurlbert, S. H. (2007). Stratification, sulfide, worms, and decline of the eared grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) at the Salton Sea, California. Lake and Reservoir Management, 23(5), 500–517. Friend, M. (2002). Avian disease at the Salton Sea. Hydrobiologia, 473(1–3), 293–306. Grinnell, J. (1908). Birds of a voyage on Salton Sea. The Condor, 10(5), 185–191. Jehl, J. R., & McKernan, R. L. (2002). Biology and migration of eared grebes at the Salton Sea. Hydrobiologia, 473(1–3), 245–253. Kjelland, M. E., & Swannack, T. M. (2018). Salton Sea days of future past: Modeling impacts of alternative water transfer scenarios on fish and bird population dynamics. Ecological Informatics, 43, 124–145. Orr, D., Bonis-Ericksen, K., Bautista, C., & Jones, A. (2026). A shrinking inland sea: Trends in avian populations and habitats at the Salton Sea. Waterbirds, 48(3), 1–18. Patten, M. A., McCaskie, G., & Unitt, P. (2003). Birds of the Salton Sea: Status, biogeography, and ecology. University of California Press. Van Rossem, A. (1911). Winter birds of the Salton Sea region. The Condor, 13(4), 129–137.

Air quality and public health Biddle, T. A., Li, Q., Maltz, M. R., Tandel, P. N., Chakraborty, R., Yisrael, K., Drover, R., Cocker, D. R., & Lo, D. D. (2021). Salton Sea aerosol exposure in mice induces a pulmonary response distinct from allergic inflammation. Science of the Total Environment, 792, 148450. Buck, B. J., King, J., & Etyemezian, V. (2011). Effects of salt mineralogy on dust emissions, Salton Sea, California. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 75(5), 1971–1985. Cheney, A. M., Ortiz, G., Trinidad, A., Rodriguez, S., Moran, A., Gonzalez, A., Chavez, J., & Pozar, M. (2023). Latinx and Indigenous Mexican caregivers' perspectives of the Salton Sea environment on children's asthma, respiratory health, and co-presenting health conditions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(11), 6023.