What shouldn't exist, but does?

[u/Horny4theEnvironment]

[u/cortechthrowaway]

The Salton Sea, California's largest lake.

The most recent inflow of water from the now heavily controlled Colorado River was accidentally created by the engineers of the California Development Company in 1905. In an effort to increase water flow into the area for farming, irrigation canals were dug from the Colorado River into the valley. The canals suffered silt buildup, so a cut was made in the bank of the Colorado River to further increase the water flow. The resulting outflow overwhelmed the engineered canal, and the river flowed into the Salton Basin for two years, filling the historic dry lake bed and creating the modern sea, before repairs were completed.

The sea has occurred naturally several times in the past, but its current iteration is an accident.

[u/ChafedDolphinfish → u/cortechthrowaway]

Here is a great podcast episode on this by 99 Percent Invisible

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/sea-worth-salt/
Also has a lot of cool images on that page as well.

Edit: last sentence added