Congratulations, in order received, goes to George G and PortMoresby for correctly identifying Gumbo was in the small community of Bombay Beach.
Bombay Beach is the lowest community in the US, 223 feet below sea level. It’s located on the shore of the Salton Sea in the Californian Sonoran desert on the southern edge of the San Andreas fault. The Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when the Colorado River breached its levees, and flooded the desert valley to make a 15 by 35 mile lake. Developers created communities, along the shore of the Salton Sea, where guests and residents did water sports, fished and golfed.
In the late 1970s, storms brought flooding to the area which buried a mobile home park in Bombay Beach. A berm now protects the west end of the town, but the flooding affected development.The Salton Sea also has pesticides in it from the runoff of nearby farms. And the sea is saltier than the Pacific Ocean. The contaminated and salty water killed scores of fish and contaminated the shoreline . The sand near the shore is coated with fish skeletons.
There are still about 300 people in this community, but it has the feel of a ghost town with many abandoned and buried houses and businesses. It’s been featured in movies and television for it’s unique look, bar and for the people who choose to live there.
Browsing in The Guardian this morning I ran across this article about Bombay Beach and remembered that Gumbo had been there. Check it out for more on this forgotten (except by a few) Southern California desert outpost.
More about the Salton Sea, sent to me today by a friend who grew up in nearby Calexico. Things have not improved for residents of Bombay Beach & the Imperial Valley, no happy ending in sight:https://www.theverge.com/2018/…-toxic-dust-pictures