Huxley's Other Book, The Salton Sea, and Endorheic

Today I Learned:

1) Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, wrote another book called The Island which was about a future civilization that used the same techniques and technologies as those used in Brave New World, but to utopic effect rather than dystopic effect. I have somewhat more respect for Aldous Huxley, and I suspect the two novels should really be taught together (unless The Island just isn't any good, which is possible).

I got this from somebody on Facebook this morning, but I have to confess I'm not sure who it was, looking back. Whoever it was, thank you!

2) The Salton Sea is an interesting body of water in the southern California desert. The Salton Sea is an inland (and endorheic -- see below) body of water that actually goes through 4-5 century cycles of freshwater lake -> saltwater lake -> desert. Right now it should be in the desert phase, except that a miscalculation in some hydrological engineering in the early 20th century flooded it early. Since then, it has been steadily salinifying and moving around. If you're interested in dynamic geology, check out the Salton Sea.

Thanks to Tara Sullivan for posting some intriguing pictures of the Salton Sea!

3) "Endorheic", as in an endorheic lake or water basin, is a body of water that doesn't empty into an ocean or sea. This isn't the first time I've run across the root "rheos" in my TILs. Turns out it's Greek for "flow".