Slab City, the remote outpost near Salvation Mountain and the Salton Sea, is filled with people who live without electricity, sewers, or even running water. French photographer Laura Henno spent two months there documenting what it’s like there.
The area is comprised of 640 acres of public land in Imperial County at the site that was once the Camp Dunlap U.S. Marine Corps base.
The base once housed a lab for testing how well concrete survived in the harsh climate of the desert in the 1940s, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The base was shut down after World War II and squatters saw an opportunity to claim the land as their own, using the concrete slabs that remained to form a community.
Slab City has about 150 full-timers, with more taking up residence there during the cooler winter and spring months.
Henno’s photos of Slab City are really worth checking out as they give a look at the area and its residents that is rarely seen.
Give them a view here.
