Imperial County is in the California Desert at the extreme southeast corner of the state. Locally this area is known as the Imperial Valley.
Salton Sea đ - California's largest lake formed when an irrigation canal burst in 1905 and flooded the Salton Basin for more than a year. This unusual area is home to geothermal features, a wildlife refuge, the partially built resort community of Salton City, and the "profoundly strange" artwork of Salvation Mountain in the squatter town of Slab City.
Slab City đ - Slab City is a remote corner of the desert built on the foundations (slabs) of the former World War II US Marine Camp Dunlap. It is home to permanent and itinerant residents consisting of snow birds, artists, military veterans, anarchists, neo-libertarians and others living in motorhomes and camping trailers who have formed an informal off-grid community. Salvation Mountain, a brightly colored religious artwork that covers an entire hillside, is the most prominent of many artistic works that visitors will encounter while driving through the area.
The Imperial Valley was settled as a farming community in the early 1900s, and has remained a primary producer of winter vegetables and an area filled with cattle feedlots. Flooding from the Colorado River has wiped out the valley a number of times in the early part of the 20th century; now a series of canals controls the water flow. The flooding produced the Salton Sea, a large alkaline lake that nearly bisects the entire county.
The soil is fertile but highly alkaline. The watershed drains to the Salton Sea; the entire area was once underwater as the Gulf of California.
The area newspaper is the Imperial Valley Press.
A large portion of the population is Mexican immigrants, so while English is more common, many transactions take place entirely in Spanish.
More often than not, you will need to get to places by car due to the lack of accessible or frequent public transportation.
However, Imperial Valley Transit (IVT) offers service between El Centro and Calexico, Imperial, Brawley, Calipatria, Niland (near Slab City), Seeley (for NAF-El Centro), or Holtville. Service on Saturday is more limited than weekdays, but very limited service does operate on Sundays between Calexico, El Centro, and Brawley. Furthermore, it is possible to get to Bombay Beach via bus, but this service is only available once per way on Thursdays from Brawley.
Imperial County is essentially a safe area. But, it is still known to have gangs so always take precautions, such as not walking alone at night.
Imperial County also has very harsh summers. It's known to have temperatures over in the summer (mostly from June to September) and have high humidity from June to October so always bring water with you everywhere. Becoming dehydrated is very easy to achieve, so always drink water, even if you are not thirsty.
Call 911 for police, fire dept, or ambulance.
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