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Salton Sea, Small Building
Salton Sea, Small Building
Salton Sea, Small Building

Salton Sea, Small Building

Artist (American, born 1944)
Date1986
MediumPlatinum-palladium print with watercolor
DimensionsImage: 18 1/4 × 14 5/8 in. (46.4 × 37.1 cm)
Support: 22 7/8 × 17 7/8 in. (58.1 × 45.4 cm)
Mat: 26 × 22 in. (66 × 55.9 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineMuseum purchase, 2017
Object number2017.4.1
DescriptionTall palm tree with beard of shed fronds at left foreground dwarfs a small cube-shaped structure at center of middle ground. Line of palm trees in background.
eMuseum Notes
The Colorado River has long flowed all the way down to California’s Imperial Valley, depositing the rich soil that made the area famous for its agriculture. The basin was intermittently wet or dry, depending on the flow of the river. An engineering error in 1906 led to the creation of a lake and the subsequent construction of many houses around it. Increasing salinity and pollution have left the area abandoned by most fish and all but the hardiest humans, though it remains a rich habitat for birds.
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