continue this maintenance, and , still operates. Leonard Knight was featured in Sean Penn's Into the Wild, released in 2007. Knight died in 2014. An obituary of Knight stated that he "spent almost 30 years building the colorful mountain in the Imperial Valley desert, just outside of Niland, Calif. Built out of adobe and donated paint, Knight worked on the mountain all day, every day. He even slept at the mountain's base in the back of a pick-up truck, with no electricity or running water. He bathed in the nearby natural hot springs." A National Geographic article published after Knight's death provided this insight into the creator of Salvation Mountain."A visionary ... Leonard worked beyond our concept of time, slowly and methodically without ever wandering from his path. His sole purpose in this endeavor was to spread the message that 'God is Love'. He shared this with everyone who came to the mountain ..."The work still stands as a 50 ft-tall piece of religious folk art, and for Slab City, "an unofficial centrepiece for the community and [cementing] the area's anarchic creative identity", according to a 2020 report. Paint toxicity concerns In July 1994, Imperial County hired a toxic waste specialist to test the soils around Salvation Mountain, with results showing high levels of lead toxicity. Knight and his supporters gathered signatures for a second test to be done by an independent party of his choosing. That test came back negative, supporting Knight's claim that he used non-toxic paints and that there were no toxins in the soil. However Knight's claim of using latex paint is still concerning. The Pollution Prevention Regional Information Center cites latex paint as, “Highly toxic to the environment. It harms fish and wildlife, and contaminates the food chain if poured down a storm drain. It can also pollute groundwater if dumped on the ground.” Media appearances In 2008, the band Third Day released the album Revelation, which featured an artistic depiction of Salvation Mountain as the album's cover image. The liner notes for Revelation state that the album art is "an artistic interpretation" of Salvation Mountain. Huell Howser did two interviews ten years apart for his series California's Gold. In the second interview, he described the changes made since the first interview. The music video for the American singer, songwriter, and rapper Kesha's song "Praying" was partially filmed on Salvation Mountain. The music video for