Just found an interesting article over at DesertUSA and figured this would make another great topic for discussion:

http://www.desertusa.com/geofacts/sanddune.html

I know I've seen a few other scattered articles about this so I'll try to add them in as I find the links.

I posted this here in another thread, Jason, but, here goes again.
Most of the sand at Glamis is from the Colorado River changing course several times. When the delta of the river gets clogged with sediment, the river has no choice but to overflow thier banks and chart a new course. All rivers carry sediment (hense the Mississippi's nickname of "Big Muddy") and are trying to get back to the ocean. All this sediment is dumped in the delta where the river meets the ocean. When a river changes course, the old riverbed dries up and the remaining sediment gets blown all over.
From what I researched back in my school days, most of the Glamis sand was dumped almost 100,000 years ago. The whole area was at one time under water. I'll stop.

ISN'T THAT ALSO HOW THE SALTON SEA WAS CREATED. FROM A LARGE FLOOD OF SOME SORT FROM THE COLORADO RIVER.

I think the Salton Sea is what is left of what was an even bigger lake that geologists called Lake Cahauilla (something like that). It covered a major portion of southern California around 100,000 years ago. You can go up into the hills near the Salton Sea as much as 1,000 above sea level and find marine animal fossils, that's how high the water level once was. Pretty incredible.
Just thinking about it, could be that the Salton Sea was once the delta for the Colorado river. I'd need to do more research on it, but since I'm really a lazy ol' dude, I probably won't.

Awe come on everyone knows the Dunes came from the great Sand God. He breaks down Mountains far far away and brings us the deposits in water. Heres an overhead of the blockage of the delta formed by the ancient river. NOW GLAMIS. See all them dunes. Sonny Bono wanted to dig a shipping canal like the Panama to the salton sea. What a great idea, spurs life, saves the lake, makes a great shipping port and safe harbor. But a treaty would need to be worked out with Mexico and the diggin really is much less than the panama.

OK washroad. It sounds right. But, the Salton Sea was created when they were trying to make a pathway of water from the Colorado into the Imperial valley. The farming needed water for the Imperial Valley (which, by the way, feeds a good portion of the nation) A levy broke, and the flooding began. It continued until they were able to shore up the break, hence, the birth of the Salton Sea. This was in the 1920's, or somewhere about this timeframe. The whole valley area was in fact under water many many moons before our time, as an extension of the ocean. However, the Salton Sea is not ocean water. The salt content is much higher, and was caused by the natural ground and irrigation runoff from the farming industry. Since there is no "flow", the sediment continues to make the water become saltier every year. Oh well, enough for now....

For more information about flooding and lakes in the area look up information about lake cahuilla (like the ranger station) and the "Pearl Ship" of Imperial valley.

And if any of you find that pearl ship.....

sandshark, where did you get that image?

(in a John Lovits voice) Um the picture came from my own private satelite, yeah... um my wife, um, um Morgan Fairchilds took it ... yeah, um.....from the window of her space buggy. Thats it....

Nope just do searches for Salton Sea Canal and Sonny Bono and there's all kinds of stuff on the canal he proposed to build. And history of the area too:

http://www.fortunecity.de/lindenpark/feuer...12/saltonde.htm

http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/project...ses/salton.html

http://www.saltonsea.ca.gov/histchron.htm

http://www.thedesertsun.com/hottopics/salt...sea/index.shtml

http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/d/d4/enviro/ss.html

http://www.birdingamerica.com/California/saltonsea.htm

Take a look at my own custom maps, my um.... secret agent departement made for me.