Based on accounts by C.R. Robinson, who unintentionally caused the Colorado River to escape, and H.T. Cory, who, with the resources of the Southern Pacific Railroad, closed the breach as well as newspaper articles, professional reports, and other early Twentieth Century accounts, Birth of the Inland Sea explains how the Salton Sea came to be. With 105 early photographs and maps, plus 27 modern photographs and a map of the Sea, the book graphically sets the background for today's news that the Sea is rapidly shrinking.