This image is layered with contradictions, as it portrays the Salton Sea, California’s largest, yet least-known lake. Formed by accident during the construction of irrigation canals for the Colorado River, the shallow lake with no outlet has become more saline than the ocean and contaminated by natural toxins and agricultural runoff. As it dries up, particulate pollution from the talc-fine dust threatens the health of millions in the Palm Spring area and Los Angeles Basin. Remarkably, the tainted environment supports an epic concentration of wildlife, forming an essential layover for migrating birds on the Pacific Flyway. Thus a drowned tree provides habitat for cormorants, and in the background, industrial forms spewing “smoke” on the horizon are in fact steaming thermal-plants, providing some of the cleanest energy available.