Imperial Valley

Area of the Colorado Desert in Imperial County, in the far southeast of California. Situated within the Salton Sink, east of the Peninsular Ranges, it extends northwest for around 100 km/60 mi, from slightly south of the Mexican border at Baja California to the Salton Sea.

Imperial Valley is bordered on the east by the Sand Hills (Algodones Dunes) and the Chocolate Mountains. Formerly covered by the Gulf of California, it is largely below sea level, reaching a low point of −72 m/−235 ft at the Salton Sea. With its rich alluvial soils, lack of frost, and potential for bringing water downhill from the Colorado River, the area was recognized as having great agricultural potential in the late 19th century. Subsequently, in the period 1900-10, the valley was named, promoted, and largely irrigated and settled. Today the All-American Canal and hundreds of subsidiary watercourses irrigate about 4,000 sq km/1,544 sq mi of land here devoted to the cultivation of vegetables, citrus fruits, cereals, sugar beets, dates, and cotton. The valley's main population centres are at Brawley, El Centro, and Calexico.