Michael A. Patten, Guy McCaskie, and Philip Unitt
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520235939
- eISBN:
- 9780520929449
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520235939.003.0005
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
The Salton Sink essentially unites with the bed of historical Lake Cahuilla, which covers the area to a maximum elevation of approximately 15m above sea level. The Salton Sea includes all the Salton ...
More
The Salton Sink essentially unites with the bed of historical Lake Cahuilla, which covers the area to a maximum elevation of approximately 15m above sea level. The Salton Sea includes all the Salton Sea, the southern Coachella Valley, the Imperial Valley, San Sebastian Marsh and the San Felipe Greek drainage, and the Mexicali Valley south to Campo Geotérmico Cerro Prieto. Lake Cahuilla was an emergence of the Salton Sea. The approximate sea-level line is a well-defined biogeographic boundary for birds in the region, as it strongly affects habitat and climate. Subspecies described solely on the basis of mean differences could be named indefinitely along a smooth cline, defeating the purpose of a trinomial. By paying attention to subspecies, readers can learn a great deal about migration, movements, and biogeography, but only if individual specimens can be assigned to particular geographic populations.Less
The Salton Sink essentially unites with the bed of historical Lake Cahuilla, which covers the area to a maximum elevation of approximately 15m above sea level. The Salton Sea includes all the Salton Sea, the southern Coachella Valley, the Imperial Valley, San Sebastian Marsh and the San Felipe Greek drainage, and the Mexicali Valley south to Campo Geotérmico Cerro Prieto. Lake Cahuilla was an emergence of the Salton Sea. The approximate sea-level line is a well-defined biogeographic boundary for birds in the region, as it strongly affects habitat and climate. Subspecies described solely on the basis of mean differences could be named indefinitely along a smooth cline, defeating the purpose of a trinomial. By paying attention to subspecies, readers can learn a great deal about migration, movements, and biogeography, but only if individual specimens can be assigned to particular geographic populations.
Michael A. Patten, Guy McCaskie, and Philip Unitt
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520235939
- eISBN:
- 9780520929449
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520235939.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Biology
The Salton Sink lies between the southern Coachella Valley and the northern Mexicali Valley. The long history of the Salton Trough ranges from its connection with the Gulf of California during the ...
More
The Salton Sink lies between the southern Coachella Valley and the northern Mexicali Valley. The long history of the Salton Trough ranges from its connection with the Gulf of California during the Tertiary Period to the maximum spread of Lake Cahuilla beginning some 40,000 years ago. Heavy deposits of silt from the Colorado River eventually accumulated along the southern edge of Gravel Mesa to form a barrier between the former head of the gulf and the current one. The enclosed sea subsequently dried up, but reminders of the saline environment in the form of “oyster-shells and other forms of marine life” are strewn across the base of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains at an elevation of about 100m. The depression resulting from the desiccation of this “trapped” sea was further honed by the uplifting of the surrounding mountains and became a deep basin generally called the Salton Trough.Less
The Salton Sink lies between the southern Coachella Valley and the northern Mexicali Valley. The long history of the Salton Trough ranges from its connection with the Gulf of California during the Tertiary Period to the maximum spread of Lake Cahuilla beginning some 40,000 years ago. Heavy deposits of silt from the Colorado River eventually accumulated along the southern edge of Gravel Mesa to form a barrier between the former head of the gulf and the current one. The enclosed sea subsequently dried up, but reminders of the saline environment in the form of “oyster-shells and other forms of marine life” are strewn across the base of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains at an elevation of about 100m. The depression resulting from the desiccation of this “trapped” sea was further honed by the uplifting of the surrounding mountains and became a deep basin generally called the Salton Trough.
