Through the millennia the Colorado River has, from time to time, spilled over into the Salton Basin creating lakes in what is now known as California. At the turn of the last century irrigation canals were built along the river to help develop agriculture in the Imperial Valley. Because of that, in 1905, a diverted Colorado River was breached by floodwater and filled up the river valley basin. Thus the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, was formed there, in the desert. Fish were stocked, birds began flocking to the waters and fishing sports were encouraged. Eventually additional canals were built to supply water to the area. In the mid-20th century more fish were added to the body of water, palm trees were planted along the shoreline, a State Park opened, and developers built luxury resorts; celebrities and ordinary folk came flocking.

But a few decades later, because of agricultural run-off, the Salton Sea became increasingly salinated and fish died out as did grebes and pelicans. In 1999 more than 7.5 million tilapia and croakers died from depleted oxygen in the lake. The Salton Sea Authority states that over 400 species of birds rely on this ecosystem. Migratory birds need the Salton Sea. “In fact it [this ecosystem] is the second most Avian bio-diverse region in the North America, only second to the Everglades.” (https://saltonsea.com/about/faq/) Since the early noughts there have been various plans to restore the area.

With this as a backdrop I made my first visit to the Salton Sea, in May 2015. Repeated attempts to channel waterways, develop agriculture, and create resorts beside this accidental “sea” left scars on the surrounding communities. This dead sea had visibly evaporated with each visit I made between then and 2019 yet decay and survival clearly coexisted there. Sparseness, the desert’s horizon, open terrain, and the distant mountains still define this world and pulled me in.

My book, Siren Song is the result of a five-year photo project at the Salton Sea. The book is more about the people – or specifically, their absence – than about the land. The photographs are of traces of the everyday in the vicinity of this toxic, abandoned lake. It is a meditation on a place that somehow felt like home to me. The book reveals itself through its tangible dimensions and paper stock and layers of words and images.

For more information take a look here : https://www.tamargranovsky.com/books