Your Land, My Land - Offrange

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As in many parts of the Colorado Desert, the sand on the banks of the irrigation canals that run criss-cross across the Imperial Valley is scattered with shells. Photos by Christina Yergat Drive southbound from Joshua Tree on the 111 and find, to your right, the Salton Sea, the behemoth salt lake. Hydrogen sulfide gas clouds the far rim, vanishing point obliviated. To your left, the Chocolate Mountains appear like a shadow above the desert’s boundless microwave. Gold mines with names like American Girl and Picacho once attracted hotshot prospectors; today, the Chemgold corporation owns the latter, and the former is defunct. Now, these ranges host Marines from Yuma who come to practice their aim. Driving the 35-mile lakefront on the hottest day in August, the daytime temperature registers 118℉. In the pitch of night, respite is 100℉. With the air conditioning turned up, the interior of my windshield burns my hand. On this single-lane highway, there are no floodlights and few exits; on t

Much of the United States’ winter produce is grown in one economically depressed desert county in California with a century-long agricultural history, where a multi-billion dollar lithium mining industry looms on the horizon. Will Imperial Valley agriculture survive? Drive southbound from Joshua Tree on the 111 and find, to your right, the Salton Sea, the behemoth salt lake. Hydrogen sulfide gas clouds the far rim, vanishing point obliviated. To your left, the Chocolate Mountains appear like a shadow above the desert’s boundless microwave. Gold mines with names like American Girl and Picacho o

Your Land, My Land - Offrange

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