2. Salton Sea, California: It's an unexpected sight: California's largest lake in the middle of its biggest desert. After the Colorado River flooded in 1905, it took 1500 workers and half a million tons of rock to put the river back on course. With no natural outlet, the artificial Salton Sea is here to stay. Its surface is 220ft below sea level and its waters 30% saltier than the Pacific.

Another unusual sight near the lake's eastern shore is Salvation Mountain, a 100ft-high hill of concrete and hand-mixed adobe, covered with acrylic paint. With the motto ‘God Never Fails,’ it's the vision of folk artist Leonard Knight. Turn off Hwy 111 at Niland, drive east on Beal Rd and you can't miss it.

加利福尼亚 沙尔顿海：这是意料之外的景象：加利福尼亚最大的湖在最大的沙漠中间。1905年科罗拉多河泛滥后，1500名工作者用了50万吨石头才把它归位。由于没有天然的出口，人工的沙尔顿海就这样形成了。其表面比海平面低220英尺，水比太平洋咸30%。

另一个不寻常的景观在湖的东岸：救世军山 一个由混凝土和手工混制的泥砖堆砌的100英尺的山，上面覆盖着丙烯酸涂料。这是民间艺术家Leonard Knight（译者注：Leonard Knight是救世军山的建设者和首席设计师）的视野，他的座右铭是“上帝永不让我们失望”。沿着111高速公路到Niland，向东行驶至Beal路，你一定不要错过它哦。