In 1905 a man made disaster turned a salty, desert basin into the United States' largest inland sea. In the 40's and 50's mass development started with aspirations that one day it would be the new vacation hot spot.
Nature didn't conspire. The Colorado river pushed the Sea's levels up flooding costal towns, destroying many of the developments. Fifty years later, barely any one lives there, leaving a slowly decaying time capsule along the salty shores.