Rivers | Texas Almanac Texas Almanac The Source For All Things Texan Since 1857 Search the web Environment Texas Almanac © 2010 There are 11,247 named Texas streams identified in the U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System. Their combined length is about 80,000 miles, and they drain 263,513 square miles within Texas. Fourteen major rivers are described here, starting with the southernmost and moving northward (for secondary rivers and streams, click .): Rio Grande The Pueblo Indians called this river P’osoge, which means the “river of great water.” In 1582, Antonio de Espejo of Nueva Vizcaya, Mexico, followed the course of the Río Conchos to its confluence with a great river, which Espejo named Río del Norte (River of the North). The name Rio Grande was first given the stream apparently by the explorer Juan de Oñate, who arrived on its banks near present-day El Paso in 1598. Thereafter the names were often consolidated as Río Grande del Norte.

It was shown also on early Spanish maps as Río San Buenaventura and Río Ganapetuan. In its lower course, it early acquired the name Río Bravo, which is its name on most Mexican maps. At times it has also been known as Río Turbio, probably because of its muddy appearance during its frequent rises. Some people erroneously call this watercourse the Rio Grande River. This river forms the boundary of Texas and the international U.S.-Mexican border for 889 or 1,254 river miles, depending upon method of measurement. Length of Major Rivers 865 From the original headwaters to the outflow point. Source: U.S. Geological Survey, 2008. The U.S. Geological Survey figure for the total length from its headwaters to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico is 1,900 miles. According to the USGS, the Rio Grande is tied with the St. Lawrence River (also 1,900 miles) as the fourth-longest North American river, exceeded only by the Missouri-Mississippi, McKenzie-Peace, and Yukon rivers.

Since all of these except the Missouri-Mississippi are partly in Canada, the Rio Grande is the second-longest river entirely within or bordering the United States. It is Texas’ longest river. The snow-fed flow of the Rio Grande is used for irrigation in Colorado below the San Juan Mountains, where the river rises at the Continental Divide. Turning south, it flows through a canyon in northern New Mexico and again irrigates a broad valley of central New Mexico. Southern New Mexico impounds Rio Grande waters in Elephant Butte Reservoir for irrigation of the valley above and below El Paso. The valley near El Paso is thought to be the oldest irrigated area in Texas because Indians were irrigating crops here when Spanish explorers arrived in the early 1500s. From source to mouth, the Rio Grande drops 12,000 feet to sea level as a mountain torrent, desert stream, and meandering coastal river. Along its banks and in its valley, Europeans established some of their first North American settlements. Here are situated three of the oldest towns in Texas — Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario.

Because of the extensive irrigation, the Rio Grande virtually ends at the lower end of the El Paso valley, except in seasons of above-normal flow. The river starts again as a perennially flowing stream where the Río Conchos of Mexico flows into it at Presidio-Ojinaga. Through the Big Bend, the Rio Grande flows through three successive canyons, the Santa Elena, the Mariscal, and the Boquillas. The Santa Elena has a river bed elevation of 2,145 feet and a canyon-rim elevation of 3,661. Corresponding figures for Mariscal are 1,925 and 3,625, and for Boquillas, 1,850 and 3,490. The river here flows for about 100 miles around the base of the Chisos Mountains as the southern boundary of Big Bend National Park. Below the Big Bend, the Rio Grande gradually emerges from mountains onto the Coastal Plains. A 191.2-mile strip on the U.S. side from Big Bend National Park downstream to the Terrell–Val Verde county line has federal designation as the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River.

At the confluence of the Rio Grande and Devils River, the United States and Mexico have built Amistad Dam, to impound 3,151,267 acre-feet of water, of which Texas’ share is 56.2 percent. Falcon Reservoir, also an international project, impounds 2,646,187 acre-feet of water, of which Texas’ share in Zapata and Starr counties is 58.6 percent. The Rio Grande, where it joins the Gulf of Mexico, has created a fertile delta called the Lower Rio Grande Valley, a major vegetable- and fruit-growing area. The river drains 49,387 square miles of Texas and has an average annual flow of 645,500 acre-feet. For Secondary Streams of Texas, c lick . Above, the South Llano River at Junction. Texas Parks & Wildlife photo. Principal tributaries flowing from the Texas side are the Pecos and Devils rivers. On the Mexican side are Río Conchos, Río Salado, and Río San Juan. About three-fourths of the water running into the Rio Grande below El Paso comes from the Mexican side.

Pecos River The Pecos, one of the major tributaries of the Rio Grande, rises on the western slope of the Santa Fe Mountains in the Sangre de Cristo Range of northern New Mexico. It enters Texas as the boundary between Loving and Reeves counties and flows 350 miles southeast as the boundary for several other counties, entering Val Verde County at its northwestern corner and angles across that county to its mouth on the Rio Grande, northwest of Del Rio. According to the Handbook of Texas, the origins of the river’s several names began with Antonio de Espejo, who called the river the Río de las Vacas (“river of the cows”) because of the number of buffalo in the vicinity. Gaspar Castaño de Sosa, who followed the Pecos northward, called it the Río Salado because of its salty taste, which caused it to be shunned by men and animals alike. It is believed that the name “Pecos” first appears in Juan de Oñate’s reports concerning the Indian pueblo of Cicuye, now known as the Pecos Pueblo in New Mexico, and is of unknown origin.

Through most of its 926-mile-long course from its headwaters, the Pecos River parallels the Rio Grande. The total drainage area of the Pecos in New Mexico and Texas is about 44,000 square miles. Most of its tributaries flow from the west; these include the Delaware River and Toyah Creek. The topography of the river valley in Texas ranges from semi-arid irrigated farmlands, desert with sparse vegetation, and, in the lowermost reaches of the river, deep canyons. Nueces River The Nueces River rises in two forks in Edwards and Real counties and flows 315 miles to Nueces Bay on the Gulf near Corpus Christi. Draining 16,700 square miles, it is a beautiful, spring-fed stream flowing through canyons until it issues from the Balcones Escarpment onto the Coastal Plains in northern Uvalde County. Alonso de León, in 1689, gave it its name. Nueces, plural of nuez, means nuts in Spanish.

(More than a century earlier, Cabeza de Vaca had referred to a Río de las Nueces in this region, but that is now thought to have been the Guadalupe.) The original Indian name for this river seems to have been Chotilapacquen. Crossing Texas in 1691, Terán de los Rios named the river San Diego. The Nueces was the boundary line between the Spanish provinces of Texas and Nuevo Santander. After the Texas Revolution of 1836, both Texas and Mexico claimed the territory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, a dispute that was settled in 1848 by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which fixed the international boundary at the Rio Grande. Average runoff of the Nueces is about 539,700 acre-feet a year. Principal water conservation projects are Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir. Principal tributaries of the Nueces are the Frio and the Atascosa. San Antonio River The San Antonio River has at its source large springs within and near the city limits of San Antonio.

It flows 180 miles across the Coastal Plains to a junction with the Guadalupe near the Gulf Coast. Its channel through San Antonio has been developed into a parkway known as the River Walk. Its principal tributaries are the Medina River and Cibolo Creek, both spring-fed streams, and this, with its own spring origin, gives it remarkably clear water and makes it one of the steadiest of Texas rivers. Including the Medina River headwaters, it is 238 miles in length. The river was first named the León by Alonso de León in 1689; the name was not for himself, but he called it “lion” because its channel was filled with a rampaging flood. Because of its limited and arid drainage area (4,180 square miles) the average runoff of the San Antonio River is relatively small, about 562,700 acre-feet annually. Guadalupe River The Guadalupe rises in its North and South forks in western Kerr County. A spring-fed stream, it flows eastward through the Hill Country until it issues from the Balcones Escarpment near New Braunfels.

It then crosses the Coastal Plains to San Antonio Bay. Its total length is 409 miles, and its drainage area is 5,953 square miles. Its principal tributaries are the San Marcos, another spring-fed stream, which joins it in Gonzales County; the San Antonio, which joins it just above its mouth on San Antonio Bay; and the Comal, which joins it at New Braunfels. There has been power development on the Guadalupe near Gonzales and Cuero for many years, and there is also power generation at Canyon Lake. Because of its springs and its considerable drainage area, the Guadalupe has an average annual runoff of more than 1.42 million acre-feet. The name Guadalupe is derived from Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, the name given the stream by Alonso de León. Lavaca River The Lavaca rises in extreme southeastern Fayette County and flows 117 miles into the Gulf through Lavaca Bay. Without a spring-water source and with only a small watershed, including that of its principal tributary, the Navidad, its flow is intermittent.

Runoff averages about 277,000 acre-feet yearly. The Spanish called it the Lavaca (cow) because of the numerous bison found near it. It is the principal stream running to the Gulf between the Guadalupe and the Colorado, and drains 2,309 square miles. The principal lake on the Navidad is Lake Texana. Colorado River The Colorado River proper rises in east-central Dawson County and flows 600 miles to Matagorda Bay. Its drainage area, which extends into New Mexico, is 42,318 square miles. The U.S. Geological Survey puts is total length from source at 845 miles. Its average annual runoff reaches a volume of 1.9 million acre-feet near the Gulf. Its name is a Spanish word meaning “reddish.” There is evidence that Spanish explorers originally named the muddy Brazos “Colorado,” but Spanish mapmakers later transposed the two names. The river flows through a rolling, mostly prairie terrain to the vicinity of San Saba County, where it enters the rugged Hill Country and Llano Basin.

It passes through a picturesque series of canyons until it issues from the Balcones Escarpment at Austin and flows across the Coastal Plains. Average Annual Flow 1,904,000 Texas Water Development Board, 2007. In the Hill Country, a remarkable series of reservoirs has been built to provide hydoelectric power. The largest of these are Lake Buchanan in Burnet and Llano counties and Lake Travis in Travis County. Between the two in Burnet County are three smaller reservoirs: Inks, Lyndon B. Johnson (formerly Granite Shoals), and Marble Falls. Below Lake Travis is the older Lake Austin, largely filled with silt, whose dam is used to produce power from waters flowing down from the lakes above. Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) is in the City of Austin. This entire area is known as the Highland Lakes Country.

As early as the 1820s, Anglo-Americans settled on the banks of the lower Colorado, and in 1839, the Capital Commission of the Republic of Texas chose the picturesque area where the river flows from the Balcones Escarpment as the site of a new capital of the Republic — now Austin, capital of the state. The early colonists encouraged navigation along the lower channel with some success. However, a natural log raft that formed 10 miles from the Gulf blocked river traffic after 1839, although shallow-draught vessels occasionally ventured as far upstream as Austin. Conservation and utilization of the waters of the Colorado are under jurisdiction of three agencies created by the Legislature; the Lower, Central, and Upper Colorado River Authorities. The principal tributaries of the Colorado River are the several prongs of the Concho River on its upper course, Pecan Bayou (farthest west “bayou” in the United States), and the Llano, San Saba, and Pedernales rivers. All except Pecan Bayou flow into the Colorado from the Edwards Plateau and are spring-fed, perennially flowing rivers.

In the numerous mussels found along these streams, pearls occasionally have been found. On early Spanish maps, the Middle Concho was called Río de las Perlas. Brazos River The Brazos River proper is considered to begin where the Double Mountain and Salt Forks flow together in northeastern Stonewall County; it then flows 840 miles across Texas. The U.S. Geological Survey puts the total length from the New Mexico source of its longest upper prong at 1,280 miles. With a drainage area of about 42,865 square miles, it is the second-largest river basin in Texas, after the Rio Grande. It flows directly into the Gulf southwest of Freeport in Brazoria County. Its average annual flow exceeds 6 million acre-feet, the largest volume of any river in the state. The Brazos’ third upper fork is the Clear Fork, which joins the main stream in Young County, just above Possum Kingdom Lake. The Brazos crosses most of the main physiographic regions of Texas — High Plains, West Texas Rolling Plains, Western Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, and Gulf Coastal Plains.

The original name of this river was Brazos de Dios, meaning “Arms of God.” There are several legends as to why. One is that the Coronado expedition, wandering on the trackless Llano Estacado, exhausted its water and was threatened with death from thirst. Arriving at the bank of the river, they gave it the name “Brazos de Dios” in thankfulness. Another is that a ship exhausted its water supply, and its crew was saved when they found the mouth of the Brazos. Still another story is that miners on the San Saba were forced by drought to seek water near present-day Waco and in gratitude called it Brazos de Dios. Much early Anglo-American colonization of Texas took place in the Brazos Valley. Along its channel were San Felipe de Austin, capital of Austin’s colony; Washington-on-the-Brazos, where Texans declared independence from Mexico; and other historic settlements. There was some navigation of the lower channel of the Brazos in this period. Near its mouth it intersects the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which provides connection with the commerce on the Mississippi. Most of the Brazos Valley lies within the boundaries of the Brazos River Authority, which conducts a multipurpose program for development.

A large reservoir on the main channel of the Brazos is Lake Whitney (554,203 acre-feet capacity), where it is the boundary line between Hill and Bosque counties. Lake Waco on the Bosque and Belton Lake on the Leon are among the principal reservoirs on its tributaries. In addition to its three upper forks, other chief tributaries are the Paluxy, Little, and Navasota rivers. San Jacinto River The San Jacinto is a short river with a drainage basin of 3,936 square miles and an average annual runoff of nearly 1.36 million acre-feet. It is formed by the junction of its East and West forks in northeastern Harris County and runs to the Gulf through Galveston Bay. Its total length, including the East Fork, is about 85 miles. Lake Conroe is on the West Fork, and Lake Houston is at the junction of the West Fork and the East Fork. The Houston Ship Channel runs through the lower course of the San Jacinto and its tributary, Buffalo Bayou, connecting the Port of Houston to the Gulf. There are two stories concerning the origin of its name.

One is that when early explorers discovered it, its channel was choked with hyacinth (“jacinto” is the Spanish word for hyacinth). The other is that it was discovered on Aug. 17, St. Hyacinth’s Day. The Battle of San Jacinto was fought on the bank of this river on April 21, 1836, when Texas won its independence from Mexico. San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site and monument commemorate the battle. Trinity River The Trinity rises in its East Fork, Elm Fork, West Fork, and Clear Fork in Grayson, Montague, Archer, and Parker counties, respectively. The main stream begins with the junction of the Elm and West forks at Dallas. Its length is 550 miles, and its drainage area is 17,913 square miles. Because of moderate to heavy rainfall over its drainage area, it has a average annual flow of 5.7 million acre-feet near its mouth on Trinity Bay. The Trinity derives its name from the Spanish “Trinidad.” Alonso de León named it La Santísima Trinidad (the Most Holy Trinity).

Navigation was developed along its lower course with several riverport towns, such as Sebastopol in Trinity County. For many years, there has been a basin-wide movement for navigation, conservation, and utilization of its water. The Trinity River Authority is a state agency and the Trinity Improvement Association is a publicly supported nonprofit organization that has advocated its development. The Trinity has in its valley more large cities, greater population, and more industrial development than any other river basin in Texas. On the Coastal Plains, there is large use of its waters for rice irrigation. Large reservoirs on the Elm Fork are Lewisville Lake and Ray Roberts Lake. There are four reservoirs above Fort Worth: Lake Worth, Eagle Mountain Lake, and Lake Bridgeport on the West Fork and Benbrook Lake on the Clear Fork. Lake Lavon in southeast Collin County and Lake Ray Hubbard in Collin, Dallas, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties are on the East Fork. Lake Livingston is in Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, and Walker counties.Two other reservoirs in the Trinity basin below the Dallas–Fort Worth area are Cedar Creek Reservoir and Richland-Chambers Reservoir.

Neches River The Neches rises in Van Zandt County in East Texas and flows 416 miles to Sabine Lake near Port Arthur. It has a drainage area of 9,937 square miles. Abundant rainfall over its entire basin gives it an average annual flow near the Gulf of about 4.3 million acre-feet a year. The river takes its name from the Neches Indians, who the early Spanish explorers found living along its banks. Principal tributary of the Neches, and comparable with the Neches in length and flow above their confluence, is the Angelina River, so named for Angelina (Little Angel), a Hainai Indian girl who converted to Christianity and played an important role in the early development of this region. Both the Neches and the Angelina run most of their courses in the Piney Woods, and there was much settlement along them as early as the 1820s. Sam Rayburn Reservoir, near Jasper on the Angelina River, was completed and dedicated in 1965. It has a storage capacity of 2.87 million acre-feet.

Reservoirs located on the Neches River include Lake Palestine in the upper basin and B. A. Steinhagen Lake located at the junction of the Neches and the Angelina rivers. Sabine River The Sabine River is formed by three forks rising in Collin and Hunt counties. From its sources to its mouth on Sabine Lake, it flows approximately 360 miles and drains 7,570 square miles. Sabine comes from the Spanish word for cypress, as does the name of the Sabinal River, which flows into the Frio River in Southwest Texas. The Sabine has an average annual flow volume of 5.86 million acre-feet, the second-largest in the state after the Brazos. Throughout most of Texas history, the lower Sabine has been the eastern Texas boundary line, though for a while there was doubt as to whether the Sabine or the Arroyo Hondo, east of the Sabine in Louisiana, was the boundary. For a number of years, the outlaw-infested neutral ground lay between them. There was also a boundary dispute in which it was alleged that the Neches was really the Sabine and, therefore, the boundary.

Travelers over the part of the Camino Real known as the Old San Antonio Road crossed the Sabine at the Gaines Ferry in Sabine County, and there were crossings for the Atascosito Road and other travel and trade routes of that day. Two of Texas’ largest reservoirs have been created by dams on the Sabine River. The first of these is Lake Tawakoni, in Hunt, Rains, and Van Zandt counties, with a storage capacity of 888,126 acre-feet. Toledo Bend Reservoir impounds 4.47 million acre-feet of water on the Sabine in Newton, Panola, Sabine, and Shelby counties. It is the largest lake lying wholly or partly in Texas and the 9th-largest reservoir (in capacity by volume) in the United States. This is a joint project of Texas and Louisiana, through the Sabine River Authority. Red River The Red River, with a length of 1,290 miles from its headwaters, is exceeded in length only by the Rio Grande among rivers associated with Texas.

Its original source is water in Curry County, New Mexico, near the Texas boundary, forming a definite channel as it crosses Deaf Smith County, Texas, in tributaries that flow into the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. These waters carve the spectacular Palo Duro Canyon of the High Plains before the Red River leaves the Caprock Escarpment, flowing eastward. Where the Red River crosses the 100th meridian at the bottown of the Panhandle, the river becomes the Texas-Oklahoma boundary and is soon joined by Buck Creek to form the main channel, according to the U.S. Geologial Survey. Its length in Texas is 695 miles, before it flows into Arkansas, where it swings south to flow through Louisiana. The Red River, which drains 24,297 square miles in Texas, is a part of the Mississippi drainage basin, and at one time it emptied all of its water into the Mississippi. In recent years, however, part of its water, especially at flood stage, has flowed to the Gulf via the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana. The Red River takes its name from the red color of the current.

This caused every explorer who came to its banks to call it “red” regardless of the language he spoke — Río Rojo or Río Roxo in Spanish, Rivìere Rouge in French. At an early date, the river became the axis for French advance from Louisiana northwestward as far as present-day Montague County. There was consistent early navigation of the river from its mouth on the Mississippi to Shreveport, above which navigation was blocked by a natural log raft. A number of important gateways into Texas from the North were established along the stream, such as Pecan Point and Jonesborough in Red River County, Colbert’s Ferry and Preston in Grayson County, and later, Doan’s Store Crossing in Wilbarger County. The river was a menace to the early traveler because of both its variable current and its quicksands, which brought disaster to many a trail-herd cow, as well as ox team and covered wagon. The largest water conservation project on the Red River is Lake Texoma, with a conservation storage capacity of 2.51 million acre-feet. Red River water’s high content of salt and other minerals limits its usefulness along its upper reaches.

Ten salt springs and tributaries in Texas and Oklahoma contribute most of these minerals. The uppermost tributaries of the Red River in Texas are Tierra Blanca Creek, which rises in Curry County, N.M., and flows easterly across Deaf Smith and Randall counties to meet Palo Duro Creek and form the Prairie Dog Town Fork a few miles east of Canyon. Other principal tributaries in Texas are the Pease and the Wichita in North Central Texas and the Sulphur in Northeast Texas, which flows through Wright Patman Lake, then into the Red River after it has crossed the boundary line into Arkansas. The last major tributary in Northeast Texas is the Cypress Creek system, which flows into Louisiana before joining with the Red River. Major reservoirs in this basin are Lake O’ the Pines and Caddo Lake. From Oklahoma, the principal tributary is the Washita, which has its headwaters in Roberts County, Texas. The Ouachita, a river with the same pronunciation though spelled differently, is the principal tributary to the Red River’s lower course in Arkansas.

The Red River boundary dispute, a long-standing feud between Oklahoma and Texas, was finally settled in 2000 when the boundary was set at the vegetation line on the south bank, except for Lake Texoma, where the boundary was set within the channel of the lake. Canadian River The Canadian River heads near Raton Pass in northern New Mexico near the Colorado boundary line and flows into Texas on the west line of Oldham County. It crosses the Texas Panhandle into Oklahoma and there flows into the Arkansas River, a total distance of 906 miles. It drains 12,865 square miles in Texas, and much of its 213-mile course across the Panhandle is in a deep gorge. A tributary, the North Canadian River, drips briefly into the Texas Panhandle in Sherman County before it joins the main channel in Oklahoma. One of several theories as to how the Canadian got its name is that some early explorers thought it flowed into Canada. Lake Meredith, formed by Sanford Dam, provides water for several Panhandle cities. Because of the deep gorge and the quicksand that occurs in many places, the Canadian River has been a particularly difficult stream to bridge.

It is known, especially in its lower course in Oklahoma, as outstanding among the streams of the country for the great amount of quicksand in its channel. New Mexico - State Information and Fun Facts at Internet 4 Classrooms State Flag: Click Here (opens window to 50states.com) State Bird: Roadrunner (opens window to 50states.com) State Flower: Yucca Flower (opens window to 50states.com) Geographical Description The Great Plains cover the eastern third of the state. Rivers have carved out deep canyons in the high plateau areas. The Rio Grande River cuts through the Rocky Mountains which occupy the central portion of the state. East of the Rio Grande River, is the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range where the highest peak, Wheeler Peak is located. The Basin and Range Region stretches across the section south of the Rocky Mountains. This area is characterized by rugged mountain ranges intersected by desert basins.

A few of the mountain ranges found here are the Guadalupe, Mogollon, Organ, Sacramento, and San Andres mountain ranges Map: Relief Map of NM Industry Electric equipment, petroleum and coal products, food processing, printing and publishing, minerals, natural gas, stone, glass, and clay products, tourism Agriculture Cattle, sheep, hay, onions, beans, dairy products, pinewood, nursery stock, chilies Other Information Fun Facts: The highest capital city in the United States at 7,000 feet above sea level is Santa Fe. The only river that runs the entire length of New Mexico and is New Mexico's longest river is The Rio Grande. New Mexico borders at the same point with Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. Mexico and the country of Mexico share an international border. New Mexico's population is only about 12 people per square mile, and have more sheep and cattle than people. More Fun Facts: Quick Facts About New Mexico | RiverXchange © 2015 by Orilla Consulting, LLC RiverXchange © 2015 by Orilla Consulting, LLC Rio Grande Geography New Mexico became the 47th U.S. state in 1912.

It is located at a longitude of 103°W to 109°W and a latitude of 31° 20’N to 37°N. Geographically it is the fifth largest state yet it has the least amount of surface water of all 50 states, as a percentage of its land mass (0.2%). If you want to know how “wet” your state is, click here . The two largest rivers are the Rio Grande and Pecos. The Pecos is actually a tributary of the Rio Grande. The state’s population is approximately 2 million people, with about 900,000 people living in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. RiverXchange classes in New Mexico currently come from Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and outlying areas of Bernalillo and Sandoval Counties. Albuquerque is in the center of the state. Rio Rancho is adjacent to/northwest of Albuquerque. Santa Fe (the state capital) is about 65 miles north of both cities. These communities are located at altitudes of 5000-7500′ above sea level.

The Rocky Mountains begin in British Columbia (Canada) and end in New Mexico. The 50 highest peaks in New Mexico are all over 11,000 feet in elevation, with Wheeler Peak (near Taos, in northern NM) being the highest peak at 13,161 feet. The Continental Divide runs through the entire length of New Mexico, closely following the path of the Rio Grande. The Divide represents a major U.S. division of watersheds: all precipitation that falls to the west of the Divide eventually makes its way to the Pacific Ocean, while precipitation that falls to the east of the Divide makes its way to the Atlantic Ocean. The diverse geology of the state provides terrain that includes six of the seven “life zones.” A life zone is a belt of vegetation and animal life that appears with increases in altitude and increases in latitude. With such a variation in landscapes, the animal and plant species also represent a vast range like no other on the planet. To learn more about life zones in New Mexico, click here . The Rio Grande did not carve its own valley; rather, the valley appeared first and the river followed.

This “rift valley” was created when the earth’s crust separated due to faulting and other earth movements caused by the North American and Pacific plates scraping against each other millions of years ago. Climate The high desert climate is classified as arid to semi-arid, with lots of sunshine and very low humidity. Average precipitation in Albuquerque is about 9″ per year, and the state average is about 14″. Albuquerque receives 9-10″ of snow annually, while higher elevations/northern mountains get up to 100″ annually. Most precipitation falls as rain during the summer months. Much of New Mexico is located in the Upper Chihuahuan Desert, which is colder than the Sonoran desert in Arizona. The saguaro cactus — a symbol of the wild west — is rarely found in New Mexico due to prolonged freezing temperatures. Well-known native plants include yucca, cholla cactus, prickly pear cactus, piñon pine, juniper, cottonwood (in riparian areas), and Ponderosa pine (in higher elevations). Click here to learn more about New Mexico’s native plants.

Many people would be surprised to learn that the number of days above 90 degrees and below 32 degrees in Albuquerque is about the same as in the Washington, D.C. area! Rio Grande Río Grande is Spanish for “Big River.” (Río means “river” in Spanish, so there is no need to say Rio Grande River.) Nearly all New Mexico mountain ranges, rivers, streams and towns have Spanish language or native language names, reflecting the influence of two very different cultures that have had a major impact on the history and development of the state. Examples of water/geology-related Spanish language words that have been adopted into contemporary New Mexican culture include playa (dry lake), arroyo (dry river, creek or stream bed), mesa (elevated area of land with a flat top (table) and sides), bosque (riparian forest), acequia (community-based irrigation; also referred to as ditch irrigation) and mayordomo (ditch boss). New Mexico’s community acequias are the oldest water management institutions in the U.S. of European origin. To learn more about New Mexico’s acequia culture, click here .

The Rio Grande’s length is approximately 1,885 miles, starting in southern Colorado and ending in a sandy delta at the Gulf of Mexico. It is the fourth longest river system in North America and forms the border between the U.S. and Mexico. It is called the Río Bravo del Norte or Río Bravo in Mexico. Principal tributaries are the Pecos, Devils, Conejos, Chama and Puerco rivers in the United States, and the Conchos, Salado and San Juan in Mexico. In the Middle Rio Grande (home to Rio Rancho and Albuquerque), the largest tributary to the Rio Grande is Albuquerque’s Southside Water Reclamation Plant! Today, there are sections of the river that run dry, and the Rio Grande does not always reach the Gulf of Mexico. This is due to intense human development and agricultural water use upstream in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Statewide, municipalities get about 90% of their drinking water from the ground (aquifer). The Rio Grande provides about 56% of the water needed agriculture in the Rio Grande Basin. The remaining water comes from the ground. For more information about New Mexico’s water use, click here .

Fecal coliform/e.coli (from human and animal waste), endangered species, overpumping of groundwater, and increased demands on the Rio Grande for municipal drinking water are growing threats. From a hydrological point of view, surface water and groundwater are almost always connected. This is why overpumping of one eventually affects the other, and why pollution of one eventually affects the other. To learn more about the surface water-groundwater connection, click here . The Rio Grande and its unique riparian area provide critical habitat for many animals including migrating birds between Mexico and Canada. In the Middle Rio Grande, the two endangered species of particular concern are the Southwestern willow flycatcher and the Rio Grande silvery minnow. To learn about all of New Mexico’s endangered species, click here . ofr87-242--Largest Rivers in the United States This report is available in pdf format (633KB) This fact sheet shows the location and ranking of the 20 largest rivers in the United States. It is common knowledge that the Mississippi is the largest U.S. river, but what is the rank of other major U.S. rivers?

Rivers are considered large on the basis of one or more of three characteristics: total length from source to mouth, area of basin (watershed) drained by the stream, and average rate of flow (discharge) at the mouth. The alphabetical list on the back of this sheet shows these characteristics of 32 rivers so as to include the 20 largest rivers in each of the three categories. Among the 32 rivers, 16 are tributary to other rivers on the list; the remaining rivers discharge directly into oceans, seas, gulfs, or bays. As dynamic parts of our environment, rivers and their characteristics vary in space and time in response to climatic changes and to man's activities . The causes include seasonal and annual changes in precipitation and temperature, cycles of erosion and deposition (especially during floods), diversions of water (for irrigation, power, and other purposes), and the construction of public worksdams, levees, locks, and canals.

For example, combinations of these effects, but principally diversions, have reduced the average flow of the Colorado River near its mouth from about 22,000 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) for the period 1903-34 to less than 4,000 ft3/s during the period 1951-80. However, the annual flow in 1984 averaged 17,500 ft3/s, a consequence of record-breaking precipitation on the river basin. A flow of 1,000 ft3/s is equal to 646 million gallons per day, 724,000 acre-feet per year, or 28.3 cubic meters per second. (One acre-foot is the volume of water that would cover 1 acre to a depth of 1 foot.) River lengths or river-length data are affected not only by some of the natural and artificial causes noted in the preceding paragraph, but also by the precision of various techniques of measurement, by the scale of available maps or aerial photographs, and by somewhat arbitrary decisions.

For example, the length may be considered to be the distance from the mouth to the most distant headwater source (irrespective of stream name) or from the mouth to the headwaters of the stream commonly identified as the source stream. The names of some rivers, such as the Mississippi River and the Rio Grande, are unchanged from source to mouth. In contrast, the name of the source of the Mobile RiverTickanetley Creekchanges five times before becoming Mobile River 45 miles north of Mobile Bay. The lengths of meandering rivers, such as the Mississippi River south of Cairo, Ill., undergo significant changes in length from time to time because of a natural or excavated cutoff (a channel severing a narrow strip of land, thus bypassing a large bend in a river) that reduces river length and therefore navigation time. For example, between 1766 and 1885, the length of the Mississippi River from Cairo, Ill., to New Orleans, La., was reduced by 218 miles because of 18 cutoffs (Elliott, 1932, page 59). Reference cited-Elliott, D.O. (U.S.

Mississippi River Commission), 1932, The improvement of the lower Mississippi River for flood control and navigation: Vicksburg, Miss., U.S. Waterways Experiment Station, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 345 pages. For additional information write to: U.S Geological Survey Maps showing location of largest rivers in the United States. Circled numbers correspond to numbers in first column of table of rivers on other side of this sheet. LARGEST RIVER IN THE UNITED STATES, IN DISCHARGE, DRAINAGE AREA, OR LENGTH [Of the 32 rivers listed here the 20 largest in three categories-discharge, drainage basin, and lengthare ranked from 1 to 20 ; these ranks are shown in parentheses. Abbreviations: ft3/s=cubic feet per second; mi2=square miles. All data have been rounded to no more than three significant figures. Sources of data: Stream discharge and drainage area-mainly U .S . Geological Survey reports and files; length-publications and files of U .S . Geological Survey, U .S . Army Corps of Engineers, U .S . Environmental Protection Agency, and the Tennessee Valley Authority; data for the St.

Lawrence River from "Facts from Canadian Maps," Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1972. Period of record for most rivers is 1951-80 . Some data are provisional, and subject to revision . Compiled by J .C . Kammerer, U .S . Geological Survey] NOTE: Rank from 1 to 20 in each category is shown in parentheses. Number Canada. *Less than 15,000 ft3/s and therefore not among the largest rivers in terms of discharge. 1In east-central Louisiana 50 miles northwest of Baton Rouge, the Red River flows into the Atchafalaya River, a distributary of the Mississippi River. The discharge of the Atchafalaya River, as shown in the table above, includes the entire discharge of the Red River, but excludes all water diverted into the Atchafalaya River from the Mississippi River. Thus, the respective discharges represent drainage from corresponding drainage areas.

2The total discharge from the entire 1,250,00-mi2 Mississippi River system, including the Atchafalaya, Red, and Missouri River basins, average 651,000 cubic feet per second. For the Mississippi River system as a whole, the longest continuous river channel is from the Missouri River headwater source in Montana to the mouth of the Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico, a combined length of about 3,710 miles. What Is the Longest River in Texas? | eHow What Is the Longest River in Texas? Pecos River Joins the Rio Grande image by Felipe Fernandez from Fotolia.com Texas is home to many rivers, but two of the longest are the Rio Grande and the Brazos River. The Rio Grande technically spans a greater distance, but it borders the state of Texas and the country of Mexico. The Brazos River is almost entirely contained within the borders of Texas itself. The Rio Grande The Rio Grande is 1,896 miles in length and runs south through New Mexico where it flows from the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

It continues southeast along the borders of Mexico and Texas for 1,250 miles, opening up at the Gulf of Mexico. The Brazos River The Brazos River is 1,280 miles in length and runs from Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico, through the heart of Texas and also empties into the Gulf of Mexico. A length of 840 miles of the river runs through Texas. The Brazos River was also known as the Rio de los Brazos de Dios, which means "The River of the Arms of God." The Longest River So which is longer? The Brazos River is officially considered the longest river in the state of Texas according to the United States Geographic Survey. The Brazos River is historic for being the setting for a battle between the Texas Navy and the Mexican Navy as well as the location where the Texas Navy ship "Independence" was sunk. Today the Brazos River is important as an irrigation source in addition to having hydroelectric dams. NEW MEXICO GLASS - glasses - shop NEW MEXICO GLASS Mix and match these collectible glasses to create a custom set.

Availability: In stock Fun Facts In beautiful detail this original design celebrates the State of New Mexico - from Carlsbad Caverns to White Sands to Gila Forrest to Anasazi to Mescalero - it truly is the LAND OF ENCHANTMENT! The design is amazingly rendered with vibrant colors plus silver and gold on a high quality 15-ounce frosted tumbler. Cheers and bottoms up! *15 ounces *Dishwasher safe (top rack only) *Made in Thailand Only registered users can write reviews. Please, log in or register * The oldest western city founded and inhabited is Santa Fe, established in 1607. * The world's largest international hot air balloon festival is held annually in Albuquerque. * Santa Fe's 'Palace of Governors' was built in 1610, it is the oldest government building in the nation. * In isolated villages in north-central New Mexico some descendants of Spanish conquistadors preserve a form of 16th century Spanish spoken no where else in the world today. * The largest Native American group is the Navajo tribe, with 78,000 members. There is a Navajo reservation covering 14 million acres in the New Mexico area.

* The "Green Chile capital of the world" is Hatch, NM. * Santa Fe is the highest capital city (7,000 ft above sea level) in the nation. * From the Capulin Volcano crest (8,182ft) in Union County, NM, one can view five states: Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico. * Located just north of Taos, NM, the Taos Pueblo is one of the oldest continuously occupied communities in the nation. Residents still live in the 900 year old dwellings. * The Rio Grande is the longest river in New Mexico and runs the entire length of the state. * New Mexico has more residents with Ph.Ds than any other state in the nation (due in part to the many governmental and private research facilities). * Roswell, NM, is famous for UFO sightings. * Nearly 75% of the roads in New Mexico are unpaved. * The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, NM, is famous for an architectural marvel within its walls: the staircase. It was built between 1877 and 1881. The spiral staircase has no visible means of support, contains no glue or nails.

Question: Which is the longest river in New Mexico, and runs through the entire length of the state?
Answer: The Rio Grande