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GNIS DOCKET #248742
USGS GNIS & U.S. BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES (BGN)
The Place-Name Authority Graph
Every place name on a federal map is a sovereign political decision. Explore how Indigenous toponyms, botanical indicators, and renaming disputes are docketed in the national gazetteer.
4 Curated Toponymic Case Studies
GNIS TOPONYMIC TREEFEATURE ID: #248742
CANONICAL MODERN NAME
Salton Sea
Feature Class: Waterbody · Imperial & Riverside Counties, California
ANCESTRAL INDIGENOUS TOPONYM
Ancient Lake Cahuilla (Cahuilla oral history)
FORMER / SUPERSEDED NAMES
Salton Sink (Pre-1905)
HISTORICAL VARIANTS & SPELLINGS
Salton SinkLake CahuillaSalton Basin
BGN OFFICIAL DOCKET HISTORYDECISION YEAR: 1907
Before 1905, USGS maps labeled this depression 'Salton Sink'—an arid salt flat 235 feet below sea level. When the California Development Company diversion canal breached in March 1905, diverting the entire Colorado River into the basin for nearly two years, the BGN was forced to issue an urgent emergency naming decision in 1907 renaming the feature 'Salton Sea'.
OFFICIAL STATUTORY CITATION
View Official Federal BGN Register / DOI Document