Sultan Sea

Type: Concept

As of November 2026, Sultan Sea has been mentioned in one podcast episode on Stuff You Should Know (Nov 2025). Used throughout as the (mis)name for the Salton Sea; the hosts repeatedly debate 'sea vs lake' and use it as the anchor for the episode’s narrative.

The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline endorheic lake in Riverside and Imperial counties in Southern California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough, which stretches to the Gulf of California in Mexico. The lake is about 15 by 35 miles at its widest and longest. A 2023 report put the surface area at 318 square miles (823.6 km2). The Salton Sea became a resort destination in the 20th century, but saw die-offs of fish and birds in the 1980s due to contaminatio