Desert Shores (formerly Fish Springs) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) in

Imperial County, California Imperial County is a county on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, making it the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat is El Centro. Imperial is th ...

, US. It is part of the El Centro Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography and climate

The town is located at the western shore of the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gul ...

in the

Imperial Valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

, within the

Colorado Desert California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert. It encompasses approximately , including the heavily irrigated Coachella and Imperial valleys. It is home to many unique flora and fauna. Geography and geology The Colorado D ...

ecoregion. It is west-northwest of Calipatria. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land. The surficial geology is dominated by Quaternary-era alluvial sands and clays. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, Desert Shores has a

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...

hot-desert climate ("BWh"). The coldest month is January with an average daytime high temperature of 63 °F (17 °C) and an average nighttime low of 35 °F (2 °C), while July is the hottest month, with an average daytime high temperature of 105 °F (41 °C) and an average nighttime low of 72 °F (22 °C). The all-time record high temperature is 126 °F (52 °C), and the all-time record low temperature is 13 °F (−11 °C). Sunshine is abundant all year due to a large amount of descending high pressure, and rainfall averages about 3 inches (76 millimeters) annually.

Demographics

The population was 1,128 at the 2020 census, up from 1,104 in 2010, up from 792 in 2000.

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

reported that Desert Shores had a population of 1,104. The population density was . The racial makeup of Desert Shores was 709 (64.2%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 8 (0.7%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 26 (2.4%) Native American, 4 (0.4%) Asian, 1 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 307 (27.8%) from other races, and 49 (4.4%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 848 persons (76.8%). The Census reported that 1,104 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 344 households, out of which 167 (48.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 181 (52.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 37 (10.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 27 (7.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (8.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 80 households (23.3%) were made up of individuals, and 42 (12.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21. There were 245 families (71.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.84. The population was spread out, with 352 people (31.9%) under the age of 18, 124 people (11.2%) aged 18 to 24, 263 people (23.8%) aged 25 to 44, 218 people (19.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 147 people (13.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males. There were 421 housing units at an average density of , of which 344 were occupied, of which 225 (65.4%) were owner-occupied, and 119 (34.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 2.4%. 704 people (63.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 400 people (36.2%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 792 people, 279 households, and 181 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 406 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.5%

, 1.4%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 21.1% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. 60.9% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 279 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.8 and the average family size was 3.6. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 128.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 125.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $24,712, and the median income for a family was $29,550. Males had a median income of $26,176 versus $19,375 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $8,352. About 12.0% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including none of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local

Desert Shores and its neighboring community of Salton City are governed by the Salton Community Services District (SCSD), which is a special district per California Government Code. The legislative body of the SCSD is a five-member Board of Directors who are elected by the registered voters in the district every two years. The SCSD has seven services that it is authorized to provide: #Collect, treat, or dispose of sewage. #Collect, transfer, and dispose of solid waste. #Provide fire protection. #Acquire, construct recreational facilities. #Organize, promote community recreation. #Acquire, construct, and improve street lighting and landscaping. #Provide emergency medical services. Aside from acting as the architectural committee for architectural compliance with the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R) of the 80 plus tracts within the district, the SCSD has no land use authority under existing law; that responsibility falls on the Imperial County Board of Supervisors. Water service is provided by the

Coachella Valley Water District The Coachella Valley Water District is an independent special district formed in 1918, specifically to protect and conserve local water sources in the Coachella Valley. Since then, the district has grown into a multi-faceted agency that delivers ...

State and federal

In the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

, Desert Shores is in , and . Federally, Desert Shores is in .

In popular culture

A town based on Desert Shores called Sandy Shores is featured in the video game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and the fifteenth in ...

''; next to a lake based on the

called the Alamo Sea. The 2019 film '' Desert Shores'' was filmed in Desert Shores and around the Salton Sea. The movie is based on George McCormick's short story collection ''Salton Sea.'' The 2020 documentary The Miracle in the Desert details a community-led effort to refill the Desert Shores canals from the Salton Sea.

References

External links

Salton Sea West.com: homepage
— ''a non-commercial website with a large library of government documents pertaining to Desert Shores''. {{authority control Census-designated places in Imperial County, California Salton Sea El Centro metropolitan area Populated places in the Colorado Desert Census-designated places in California