Calipatria, California: World's Tallest Flag Pole

I knew of the World's Tallest Flag Pole in Calipatria, and wondered where it was for years before I finally realized that all I had to do was to look at the skyline to find it (Obviously I didn't think too hard about looking for it). Really, all you have to do is look up above the heat-hazed streets toward the middle of town and drive toward it. Worth a peek, just to read the sign and wonder how massive the arms must be of the person who raises and lowers the flag every day.

The idea behind the pole is this: if the few feet of mountains barring the Sea of Cortez from flooding the Salton basin should break, and seawater come flooding in, the U.S. flag would still be waving proudly above the ocean (Calipatria, like much of the Imperial Valley, is below sea level).

It should be noted that the Calipatria flag pole is no longer the world's tallest, having lost that title in the recent Middle East/Asia flag pole wars.

I have been to Calipatria, CA in the desert near the Salton Sea. It is 184 feet below sea level and they have a 184 ft pole so the top is at sea level.