Two hours outside of LA is a place called Bombay Beach. Situated on the once lush Salton Sea, this area was a popular resort town for beachgoers and celebrities until the ’80s. Unfortunately, the sea experienced a rise in salinity and dried up, destroying the local ecosystem and driving residents and businesses out of the area.
What’s left these days looks closer to a Mad Max scene than anything else, with streets populated by loners and outcasted creatives. With a small population of 50 or so year round residents, it’s a truly interesting place, with art pieces sprinkled throughout the sand and a general sense that you can do what you please.
We caught wind that someone was using the barren land as a place to build DIY skate obstacles, so we decided to let our imagination get the best of us and committed to the two hour drive to get there. Once there, we met some locals, took in the art and tried to film a trick.
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October 4, 2024 1:01 pm
The stuff about the sea is half wrong and not science. The highly active volcanos and the faults control the sea that experienced a influx of chem runoff from farms that killed the fish and created algae blooms to correct itself but oxygen deprived the fish that led to the die offs. Evidence by the gypsum blooms the volcano is creating at the south end of the sea.
I was there when yall came sry will didn’t connect us but Bombay is not abandoned… fyi your helping the state and thieves fuck with us that live here when you say abandon. It’s not fun fighting off random ppl from your home with them saying oh it’s abandoned with you right there…
Also they built this this year so not abandoned again…
October 10, 2024 6:58 pm
I grew up in a town about 25 mins away. Should also check out Slab City. Another interesting place with tons of desert burn outs and their art.