Rio Grande
43005
225363756
2008-07-13T08:31:33Z
SmackBot
433328
Date the maintenance tags or general fixes
{{redirect|Río Bravo}}
{{otheruse}}
{{Infobox River
| river_name = Rio Grande
| image_name = Riogrande watershed.png
| caption = Map of the Rio Grande Watershed.
| origin = southern [[Colorado]], in [[Hinsdale County, Colorado|Hinsdale County]]
| mouth = [[Gulf of Mexico]]; [[Cameron County, Texas|Cameron County]], [[Texas]], and [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Matamoros]] municipality, [[Tamaulipas]]
| basin_countries = [[United States]], [[Mexico]]
| length = {{convert|3034|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}
| elevation = {{convert|3900|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} at source to [[sea level]] at mouth
| discharge = averages 160m³/sec
| watershed = {{convert|607965|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
}}
[[Image:Rio Grande Creede.jpg|thumb|250px|The Upper Rio Grande near [[Creede, Colorado]]]]
[[Image:SandiaMtnNM.jpg|thumb|250px|The Rio Grande at [[Bernalillo, New Mexico]], with the [[Sandia Mountains]]]]
[[Image:Riogrande.jpg|thumb|250px|The Rio Grande flowing in [[Big Bend National Park]].]]
[[Image:Rio Grande @ Laredo.jpg|The Rio Grande in the [[Laredo Borderplex]]|thumb|250px]]
[[Image:Matamoros008.JPG|thumb|250px|The Rio Grande in its lower course, between [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Matamoros]] (right side) and [[Brownsville, Texas|Brownsville]] (left side)]]
Known as the '''Rio Grande''' in the [[United States]] and as the '''Río Bravo''' (or, more formally, the '''Río Bravo del Norte''') in [[Mexico]], this [[river]], {{convert|1885|mi|km|0}} long, is the third longest river system in the United States<ref name="usgs">{{cite paper
|author=J.C. Kammerer
|title=Largest Rivers in the United States
|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]
|date=May 1990
|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/
|format=[[HTML]]
|accessdate=2006-07-15
}}</ref> and serves as a natural boundary along the border between the U.S. state of [[Texas]] and the Mexican states of [[Chihuahua]], [[Coahuila]], [[Nuevo León]], and [[Tamaulipas]].
==Description==
The Rio Grande rises in the east [[Rio Grande National Forest]] in the U.S. state of [[Colorado]]. It is formed by the confluence of several streams at the base of Canby Mountain, just east of the [[continental divide]]. From there, it flows through the [[San Luis Valley]], then south into [[New Mexico]] through [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]] and [[Las Cruces, New Mexico|Las Cruces]] to [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]], [[Texas]], where it begins to form the [[natural border|border]] between the [[United States–Mexico border|U.S. and Mexico]]. A major tributary, the [[Río Conchos]], enters at [[Ojinaga, Chihuahua]], below El Paso, and supplies most of the water in the {{convert|1254|mi|km|0}} Texas border segment. Other known tributaries include the [[Pecos River|Pecos]] and the smaller [[Devils River (Texas)|Devils]], which join the Rio Grande on the site of [[Amistad Reservoir|Amistad Dam]]. Despite its name and length, the Rio Grande is not navigable by oceangoing ships, nor are there smaller craft using it as a route. In fact it is barely navigable at all. Its natural flow is only 1/20 the volume of the Colorado River, and less than 1/100 that of the Mississippi.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}
The river has, since 1848, marked the boundary between Mexico and the United States from the twin cities of [[El Paso, Texas]], and [[Ciudad Juárez|Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua]], to the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. As such, it was across this river that Texan slaves fled when seeking their freedom, aided by Mexico's liberal colonization policies and abolitionist stance.<ref>{{PDFlink|[http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/21-4/21-4-13.pdf "The UGRR on the Rio Grande"]|105 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 108444 bytes -->}}</ref>
The major international border crossings along the river are Ciudad Juárez and El Paso; [[Presidio, Texas]], and [[Ojinaga, Chihuahua]]; [[Laredo, Texas]], and [[Nuevo Laredo|Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas]]; [[McAllen, Texas|McAllen-Hidalgo, Texas]], and [[Reynosa|Reynosa, Tamaulipas]]; and [[Brownsville, Texas]], and [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas]]. Other notable border towns are the [[Texas]]/[[Coahuila]] pairings of [[Del Rio, Texas|Del Rio]]–[[Ciudad Acuña]] and [[Eagle Pass, Texas|Eagle Pass]]–[[Piedras Negras, Coahuila|Piedras Negras]].
The US and Mexico share the waters of this river under a series of agreements administered by the joint US-Mexico Boundary and Water Commission. The most notable of these were signed in 1906 and 1944.
Use of that belonging to the US is regulated by the [[Rio Grande Compact]], an interstate pact between Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. The Rio Grande is over-appropriated, that is, there are more users for the water than there is water in the river. Because of both drought and overuse the section from El Paso downstream through [[Ojinaga]] was recently tagged "The Forgotten River" by those wishing to bring attention to the river's deteriorated condition.
In the summer of 2001 a 100 m wide sandbar formed at the mouth of the river, marking the first time in recorded history that the Rio Grande failed to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. The sandbar was subsequently dredged, but it re-formed almost immediately. Spring rains the following year flushed the re-formed sandbar out to sea, but it returned in the summer of 2002. As of September 2006, the river once again reaches the Gulf. However, ecologists fear that unless rainfall returns to normal levels during the next few years and strict water conservation measures are adopted by communities along the river, the Rio Grande may soon become extinct.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}
The Rio Grande rises in high mountains and flows for much of its length at high elevation; El Paso is {{convert|3762|ft|m|0}} above [[sea level]]. In New Mexico, the river flows through the [[Rio Grande Rift]] from one [[sediment]]-filled basin to another, cutting [[canyon]]s between the basins and supporting a fragile [[bosque]] ecosystem in its [[floodplain]]. From El Paso eastward the river flows through [[desert]]. Only in the [[sub-tropical]] lower [[Rio Grande Valley]] is there extensive irrigated agriculture. The river ends in a small [[sand]]y [[river delta|delta]] at the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. Due to the persistent period of dry weather, the river has only occasionally emptied into the Gulf Of Mexico since 2002. [http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=25.950096,-97.1733&spn=0.070385,0.107803&t=k&om=1 Google Satellite Map]
Millions of years ago, the Rio Grande ended at the bottom of the Rio Grande Rift in [[Lake Cabeza de Vaca]]. But about one [[mya (unit)|million years ago]] the [[stream capture|stream was "captured"]] and began to flow east.
The Rio Grande was designated as one of the [[American Heritage Rivers]] in 1997.
==Names and pronunciation==
''{{lang|es|Río Grande}}'' is [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "Big River" and ''{{lang|es|Río Grande del Norte}}'' means "Great River of the North". In [[English language|English]], Rio Grande is pronounced either {{IPAEng|ˈɹiːoʊ gɹænd}} or {{IPA|/ˈɹiːoʊ ˈgɹɑndeɪ/}}. Because "río" means "river" in Spanish, the phrase "Rio Grande River" is redundant.
In Mexico it is known as Río Bravo or ''{{lang|es|Río Bravo del Norte}}'', "{{lang|es|bravo}}" meaning "fierce" or "brave". There is a city along its banks that bears its name ([[Río Bravo, Tamaulipas]]) located 10 miles east of [[Reynosa, Tamaulipas]], and directly across from the Texas city of [[Pharr, Texas|Pharr]].
==Literature==
*Paul Horgan, ''Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History''. Volume 1, Indians and Spain. Vol. 2, Mexico and the United States. 2 Vols. in 1, 1038 pages - Wesleyan University Press 1991, 4th Reprint, ISBN 0-8195-6251-3
===Folklore===
* Many children who were raised in some of the school systems in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], in the [[1970s]] were taught that the Rio Grande was a [[Pandora's box]]. The river was claiming many young lives. Mythology was brought into classrooms in hopes of keeping the children away from the river. The children were told that if they went near the river, Pandora was going to take them and they would never be seen again. It was thought that Pandora was a spirit in the river.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
* The version of [[La Llorona]] in Las Cruces, New Mexico. and El Paso, Texas, says that "[[La Llorona]]" drowned her children in the Rio Grande when she could no longer support them. On nights with a full moon, says the story, La Llorona can be heard crying near the river.
===In fiction===
* In the television series ''[[Star Trek]]'' there was a Starfleet [[Danube class starship (Star Trek)|Runabout]] called the ''USS Rio Grande'' assigned to Deep Space Nine. All Starfleet Runabouts are named after Earth rivers. The ''USS Rio Grande'' had the honour of discovering the Bajoran Wormhole and being the only runabout to survive all seven seasons of Deep Space Nine.
==See also==
{{portalpar|Texas|Texasflaginstate.PNG}}
{{commons|Rio Grande (river)}}
*[[Rio Grande border disputes]]
*[[List of crossings of the Rio Grande]]
*[[List of Colorado rivers]]
*[[List of New Mexico rivers]]
*[[List of Texas rivers]]
*[[Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River]]
*[[Rio Grande Valley]]
*[[Rio Grande Gorge]]
*[[Rio Grande Trail]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Handbook of Texas|id=RR/rnr5|name=Rio Grande}}
* [http://texashistory.unt.edu/data/UNT/Maps/meta-pth-2480.tkl 1854 map of Rio Grande entrance] (hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History]).
*[http://www.chimneyparkresort.com/webcam.html Rio Grande Cam - in Mission Texas. Mexico is on the left and the US is on the right.]
*[http://www.ppl.nl/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=82 Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law] Peace Palace Library
[[Category:Rio Grande| ]]
[[Category:Rio Grande basin| ]]
[[Category:Rivers of Colorado]]
[[Category:Rivers of New Mexico|Grande]]
[[Category:Rivers of Texas]]
[[Category:American Heritage Rivers]]
[[Category:Whitewater rivers of North America]]
[[Category:Geography of Laredo, Texas]]
[[bn:রিও গ্র্যান্ড নদী]]
[[bs:Rio Grande]]
[[bg:Рио Гранде]]
[[ca:Rio Grande]]
[[cs:Rio Grande (Mexický záliv)]]
[[da:Rio Grande]]
[[de:Rio Grande]]
[[es:Río Bravo]]
[[eo:Rio Grande del Norte]]
[[eu:Grande ibaia]]
[[fa:رودخانه ریوگراند]]
[[fr:Río Grande (fleuve)]]
[[ko:리오그란데 강]]
[[hr:Rio Grande]]
[[it:Rio Grande (fiume - Stati Uniti)]]
[[he:ריו גראנדה]]
[[lt:Grandė (JAV-Meksika)]]
[[lmo:Riu Graand]]
[[mr:रियो ग्रांदे]]
[[nl:Rio Grande (Río Bravo)]]
[[ja:リオ・グランデ川]]
[[no:Rio Grande]]
[[pl:Rio Grande (rzeka w Ameryce Północnej)]]
[[pt:Rio Grande (América do Norte)]]
[[ru:Рио-Гранде (бассейн Мексиканского залива)]]
[[sk:Rio Grande]]
[[sl:Rio Grande]]
[[fi:Rio Grande]]
[[sv:Rio Grande]]
[[ta:ரியோ கிராண்டே]]
[[tr:Rio Grande]]
[[uk:Ріо-Гранде (річка у США)]]
[[zh:格蘭德河]]