Desert Shores, California

Geography and climate

The town is located at the western shore of the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley, within the Colorado Desert ecoregion. It is 36 mi west-northwest of Calipatria. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.8 sqmi, of which 0.7 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi is water.

The surficial geology is dominated by Quaternary-era alluvial sands and clays.

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Desert Shores has a subtropical hot-desert climate ("BWh"). The coldest month is December with an average daytime high temperature of 71 °F (22 °C) and an average nighttime low of 40 °F (4 °C), while July is the hottest month, with an average daytime high temperature of 108 °F (42 °C) and an average nighttime low of 76 °F (25 °C). The all-time record high temperature is 126 °F (52 °C), and the all-time record low temperature is 13 °F (−11 °C). Sunshine is abundant all year due to a large amount of descending high pressure, and rainfall averages about 3 inches (76 millimeters) annually.

|Jan record high F = 93 |Feb record high F = 100 |Mar record high F = 107 |Apr record high F = 110 |May record high F = 119 |Jun record high F = 126 |Jul record high F = 125 |Aug record high F = 123 |Sep record high F = 126 |Oct record high F = 117 |Nov record high F = 100 |Dec record high F = 95 |year record high F = 126 |Jan record low F = 13 |Feb record low F = 19 |Mar record low F = 23 |Apr record low F = 30 |May record low F = 32 |Jun record low F = 48 |Jul record low F = 53 |Aug record low F = 51 |Sep record low F = 45 |Oct record low F = 28 |Nov record low F = 24 |Dec record low F = 18 |year record low F = 13

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1860–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Desert Shores first appeared as a census-designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.

The population was 1,128 at the 2020 census, up from 1,104 in 2010, up from 792 in 2000.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Desert Shores had a population of 1,128. The population density was 1,613.7 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Desert Shores was 358 (31.7%) White, 5 (0.4%) African American, 40 (3.5%) Native American, 1 (0.1%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 543 (48.1%) from other races, and 180 (16.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,009 persons (89.5%).

The census reported that 98.6% of the population lived in households, 1.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 326 households, out of which 120 (36.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 188 (57.7%) were married-couple households, 30 (9.2%) were cohabiting couple households, 49 (15.0%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 59 (18.1%) had a male householder with no partner present. 65 households (19.9%) were one person, and 38 (11.7%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.41.

The age distribution was 316 people (28.0%) under the age of 18, 120 people (10.6%) aged 18 to 24, 283 people (25.1%) aged 25 to 44, 275 people (24.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 134 people (11.9%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 32.1years. For every 100 females, there were 109.7 males.

There were 379 housing units at an average density of 542.2 /mi2, of which 326 (86.0%) were occupied. Of these, 219 (67.2%) were owner-occupied, and 107 (32.8%) were occupied by renters.

2010

The 2010 United States census reported that Desert Shores had a population of 1,104. The population density was 1,619.9 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Desert Shores was 709 (64.2%) White, 8 (0.7%) African American, 26 (2.4%) Native American, 4 (0.4%) Asian, 1 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 307 (27.8%) from other races, and 49 (4.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 848 persons (76.8%).

The Census reported that 1,104 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 344 households, out of which 167 (48.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 181 (52.6%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 37 (10.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 27 (7.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (8.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 80 households (23.3%) were made up of individuals, and 42 (12.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21. There were 245 families (71.2% of all households); the average family size was 3.84.

The population was spread out, with 352 people (31.9%) under the age of 18, 124 people (11.2%) aged 18 to 24, 263 people (23.8%) aged 25 to 44, 218 people (19.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 147 people (13.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.4 males.

There were 421 housing units at an average density of 617.7 /sqmi, of which 344 were occupied, of which 225 (65.4%) were owner-occupied, and 119 (34.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 2.4%. 704 people (63.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 400 people (36.2%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

Local

Desert Shores and its neighboring community of Salton City are governed by the Salton Community Services District (SCSD), which is a special district per California Government Code. The legislative body of the SCSD is a five-member Board of Directors who are elected by the registered voters in the district for staggered four-year terms.

The SCSD has seven services that it is authorized to provide:

1. Collect, treat, or dispose of sewage.
2. Collect, transfer, and dispose of solid waste.
3. Acquire, construct recreational facilities.
4. Organize, promote community recreation.
5. Acquire, construct, and improve street lighting and landscaping.

Aside from acting as the architectural committee for architectural compliance with the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R) of the 80 plus tracts within the district, the SCSD has no land use authority under existing law; that responsibility falls on the Imperial County Board of Supervisors.

Water service is provided by the Coachella Valley Water District.

Electric service is provided by Imperial Irrigation District.

State and federal

In the state legislature, Desert Shores is in , and .

Federally, Desert Shores is in .

In popular culture

The 2019 film Desert Shores was filmed in Desert Shores and around the Salton Sea. The movie is based on George McCormick's short story collection Salton Sea.

The town of Sandy Shores in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V is based on Desert Shores and also nearby Bombay Beach.

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. {{Cite GNIS. 1693254. Desert Shores
3. Olalde, Mark. (August 19, 2020). "California still hasn't found analyst to study Salton Sea water import proposals it asked for".
4. {{California's Geographic Names. 1413
5. "NGMDB Product Description Page".
6. "Monthly Weather for Desert Shores, CA".
7. "Desert Shores, CA Climate".
8. "Desert Shores California Climate Data".
9. "Decennial Census by Decade".
10. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County".
11. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County".
12. "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions".
13. "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions".
14. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California".
15. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
16. "1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California".
17. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
18. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
19. "1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California".
20. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
21. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
22. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
23. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
24. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
25. "Desert Shores CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
26. "Desert Shores CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
27. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Desert Shores CDP". U.S. Census Bureau.
28. "CVWD Map | Coachella Valley Water District - Official Website".
29. "Senators". State of California.
30. "Members Assembly". State of California.
31. {{Cite GovTrack. CA. 25
32. "Desert Shores".
33. (2014-01-02). "Rockstar North’s Aaron Garbut on the making of Grand Theft Auto V – our game of 2013".