The Alamo River
River Flora
Thalassiosira weissflogii
Pleurosira with Tabularia
Gomphonema parvulum
Cyclotella meneghiniana
River Flora
Three main inputs, the Alamo, New and Whitewater Rivers, flow into the Salton Sea. In addition, there are agricultural drains and some small creeks such as Salt and Whitefield Creeks. These are fresh to brackish environments with their own particular diatom flora. These diatoms get flushed into the Salton Sea. Although most of them probably do not survive the salinity shock once entering the Sea, their valves can be found in small numbers in the plankton and the sediments. The typical "river" flora is dominated by Cyclotella meneghiniana, Thalassiosira weissflogii, Gomphonema parvulum and Pleurosira laevis.
