Yeah, the lake itself is more saline than the Pacific and is inhabited by introduced SW species like croaker and striped bass. The irrigation canals that feed the lake are FW to heavily brackish and that's where the tilapia live. The Salton Sea is like hell on earth. It's low desert and experiences average daily high temps around 110 for most of the summer. The lake was originally much smaller, but a broken weir during the construction of the All-American Canal during 1904-5 led to uncontrolled flooding of the original lake w/ Colorado River water for about a year. The lake had a brief heyday as a resort during the pre-WWII era, but it's been all downhill since then. Pesticide laden irrigation runoff high in dissolved solids have resulted in increasing salinity and toxicity in the lake and asssociated fish kills. It's worth a visit just to see the lake and date farms, but it will make you sad.
