Bombay Beach

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit one of the smaller communities in Southern California, Bombay Beach. Bombay Beach is located on the east shore of the Salton Sea and, like many communities along its shores, has had to contend with rising and falling water levels. A berm now protects the west end of the town but a portion of the town beyond the berm is either sunken under water or is half-buried in mud.



Most people use golf carts to get around since the nearest gas station is 20 miles away. The community is literally a square. The majority of structures are mobile homes.

Bombay Beach is a rather surreal place, attracting many photographers and visitors. The town, as well as others on the shores of the Salton Sea, is one of the lowest settlements in altitude in North America. It is 223ft below sea level.



Bombay Beach as been filmed quite often and is very near to the San Andreas Fault and was the location of a foreshock in the fictional made for TV movie The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990). Bombay Beach was also the location and the topic segment of the U.S. Southwest episode of the Travel Channel series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations aired in 2008. A documentary (Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea) about the Salton Sea also filmed and interviewed some of the local residents of Bombay Beach. We actually tried to seek out "hunky daddy" one of the more interesting individuals of this film. We were able to locate his residence, unfortunately, Hunky Daddy was not available. We're thinking he may have been recovering from the night before. It's not uncommon knowledge that Hunky Daddy likes to partake in Milwaukee's Best. (the chosen beer brand for Bombay Beach).

We'll definately be back to explore some more.