California’s Salton Sea is located in the Colorado Desert, a subdivision of the Sonoran Desert.
The Colorado Desert occupies southeastern California and adjacent parts of northwestern Mexico. It is a low-elevation desert characterized by intense summer heat, sparse rainfall, and distinctive plants such as creosote bush and desert fan palm.
In 1905, irrigation canals carrying water from the Colorado River breached during flood conditions. The river flowed into the Salton Sink for about two years, creating the modern Salton Sea. Engineers eventually closed the breach, but the lake remained because the basin has no natural outlet and receives continuing agricultural drainage.
The Salton Sea is often associated with the Imperial Valley and is sometimes casually labeled part of the broader Sonoran Desert. The more specific geographic answer is the Colorado Desert, which forms the Sonoran Desert’s northwestern subdivision.