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County in California, United States
Photo: Spacenut525 at English Wikipedia, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Imperial County is in the California Desert at the extreme southeast corner of the state. Locally this area is known as the Imperial Valley.
More often than not, you will need to get to places by car due to the lack of accessible or frequent public transportation.
Read in the guideChoose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Imperial · Regional · IPL
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Previously almost entirely abandoned, Bombay Beach has slowly been recolonized by a community of artists largely from the LA region seeking cheap real estate and extreme environments. Bombay Beach now hosts the Bombay Beach Bienale since 2016, which has been a major impetus for the growth of its artist community.
Brawley is a city in Imperial County near the Salton Sea.
Calexico is a city in Imperial County in California, located just across the U.S.-Mexican border from Mexicali.
Calipatria in California is the lowest city in the western hemisphere.
El Centro is the largest city in Imperial County in California. Its name is Spanish for "the center".
Imperial is a city in Southern California.
Niland is a small town near the Salton Sea.
Salton City was established in 1958 with infrastructure to support 40,000 residents, but as the Salton Sea evaporated and became more polluted the planned resort community never developed. Today, despite being home to several thousand residents, it is a modern day ghost town, with vacant lots, empty roads, and a large marina that barely contains any water.
California's largest lake formed when an irrigation canal burst in 1905 and flooded the Salton Basin for more than a year. This unusual area is home to geothermal features, a wildlife refuge, the partially built resort community of Salton City, and the "profoundly strange" artwork of Salvation Mountain in the squatter town of Slab City.
Slab City is a remote corner of the desert built on the foundations (slabs) of the former World War II US Marine Camp Dunlap. It is home to permanent and itinerant residents consisting of snow birds, artists, military veterans, anarchists, neo-libertarians and others living in motorhomes and camping trailers who have formed an informal off-grid community. Salvation Mountain, a brightly colored religious artwork that covers an entire hillside, is the most prominent of many artistic works that visitors will encounter while driving through the area.
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