California’s Salton Sea is a fertile oasis in the hostile desert of southeastern California, adopted by millions of birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway. As California’s largest lake, it stretches across almost 35 miles in a remote, below sea-level valley in the southeastern corner of the state. Current Salton Sea information is posted below.
The Sea faces a host of challenges, including a declining water supply, rising salinity, very high levels of nutrients that generate excessive algal growth and very low oxygen levels, and, to date, a glaring disconnect between the rate of change and the rate of efforts to address that change.
Salton Sea elevation, 05-May-2026: -243.34 feet, NGVD 1929Provisional data, subject to revision.
Source: USGS 10254005 Salton Sea NR Westmorland, CA
Time Series: Current/Historical Observations
Equivalent to: -241.2, NAVD 1988
Area: acres ( sq miles)
Source: SALSA2 model
Volume: million acre-feet
Salton Sea elevation on 05-May, 2003 Baseline: feet, NGVD 1929
Change from 2003 elevation: feet
Reduction in Salton Sea area: acres
( sq miles)
Currently shrinking by about 2,400 acres (3.75 sq miles) each year.
Water Inflow to the Salton Sea by Year, in thousands of acre-feet:
| Year | Imperial Valley | Mexico | Coachella Valley | Local Watershed | Ground water | sub-total | Project & Wetland use | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 983 | 70 | 80 | 4.4 | 11.5 | 1,149 | 1,149 | |
| 2017 | 942 | 69 | 77 | 4.7 | 11.8 | 1,104 | 1,104 | |
| 2018 | 913 | 61 | 75 | 4.7 | 12.2 | 1,065 | -33.9 | 1,031 |
| 2019 | 883 | 64 | 80 | 5 | 12.3 | 1,044 | -39 | 1,005 |
| 2020 | 892 | 63 | 82 | 4.9 | 12.3 | 1,054 | -44.1 | 1,010 |
| 2021 | 934 | 62 | 81 | 4.7 | 12.3 | 1,094 | -49.2 | 1,045 |
| 2022 | 911 | 62 | 74 | 4.4 | 12.3 | 1,065 | -54.3 | 1,011 |
| 2023 | 839 | 53 | 78 | 4.7 | 12.3 | 987 | -59.4 | 928 |
| 2024 | 776 | 46 | 70 | 4.5 | 12.3 | 906 | -70.1 | 836 |
| 2025 | 759 | 43 | 71 | 4.9 | 12.3 | 890 | -85.6 | 804 |
IID dust control projects: acres
Source: https://www.qsajpa.org/
SSMP dust control projects: acres Habitat projects: acres Open water atop playa: acres Revegetation atop playa: acres Net exposed playa: ~ acres ( sq miles)
Source: March 2026 SSP annual report, Table 3, p. 53
Source: March 2026 SSP annual report, Table 3, p. 53
Source: Formation, End-of-Year 2024 Playa Exposure Estimate
Source: Formation, End-of-Year 2024 Playa Exposure Estimate
Changes in bird populations: fewer pelicans, fewer eared grebes, more ducks and shorebirds
Salton Sea links:
- Salton Sea Library
- USGS – Water Availability of the Salton Sea Watershed
- Salton Sea Summit: Includes presentations and videos from the October 18-19, 2024, April 6-7, 2022 and October 17-18, 2019 conferences co-convened by the Pacific Institute.
- General Salton Sea Information from the Pacific Institute
- Salton Sea Air Quality Mitigation: IID
- California’s Salton Sea Management Program
- California’s Salton Sea Project Tracker
- New – Salton Sea Hub Site
- California’s draft Phase I: 10-Year Planof the Salton Sea Management Program
- November 7, 2017: California’s State Water Board Adopts ORDER WR 2017-0134 on Long-Term Management of Salton Sea
- Audubon’s webpage on the Salton Sea
- Audubon’s interactive Salton Sea map
- Salton Sea Partnership
- General Salton Sea Information from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
- Salton Sea Science Office of the U.S. Geological Survey
- Community Science: Salton Sea Environmental Time Series
- Salton Sea Validation – JPA
- Salton Sea Authority website
- General Salton Sea and Vicinity Land Ownership and Management Map
- Birds Observed at the Salton Seafrom the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Salton Sea Timeline from USA Today: “Salton Sea: A History of Broken Promises”