Research Guides: Rio Grande River: Rio Grande, Rio Bravo

Selected Books

A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque by Jean-Luc E. Cartron; Jane E. Mygatt; David Lightfoot; Sandra L. Brantley; Timothy K. Lowrey; David C. Lightfoot
Call Number: 508.78 FIE
ISBN: 0826342698
Publication Date: 2008-11-16
Presents more than seven hundred photographs and detailed text to describe the plants and wildlife that inhabit the Middle Rio Grande Bosque in New Mexico.
Rio Grande by Jan Reid (Editor)
Call Number: 917.64 RIO
ISBN: 9780292706019
Publication Date: 2004-10-01
Explores the history, culture, ecology, and politicization of the Rio Grande, presenting more than thirty essays, articles, stories, novel excerpts, and memoirs by such writers as Larry McMurty, Woody Guthrie, Molly Ivins, and Gloria Anzaldúa.
Big River, Rio Grande by David Baxter; Laurence Parent (By (photographer)); Andrew Sansom (Foreword by)
Call Number: 917.64 BAX
ISBN: 0292718187
Publication Date: 2009-11-15
Collection of photographs of various points along the Rio Grande and examines its recreational spots; archaeological and geological features; and controversies associated with water rights and quality; terrorism; smuggling; and other topics.
Rio Grande by Peter Lourie
Call Number: 917.64 LOU
ISBN: 1563978962
Publication Date: 2000-09-01
Chronicles the author's journey along the Rio Grande, from the Rockies to the Gulf of Mexico.
The Rio Grande by Tim McNeese
Call Number: 976.4 MCN
ISBN: 079108244X
Publication Date: 2004-11-01
Presents a short study of the Rio Grande River which makes up part of the border between Mexico and Texas and discusses its history, the people who live near its banks, and other facts.

Selected Database Articles

Silvery Minnow
The Rio Grande silvery minnow is a stout fish with moderately small eyes and a small, slightly oblique mouth. Adults may reach 3.5 in (8.9 cm) in total length. The dorsal fin of the silvery minnow is distinctly pointed with the front located slightly closer to the tip of the snout than to the base of the tail. Life color is silver with emerald reflections. The belly is silver-white, fins are plain, and barbels absent.

Selected Websites

Rio Grande from American Rivers
From its headwaters in the San Juan Range of the Colorado Rockies to the Gulf of Mexico at Brownsville, Texas, the Rio Grande draws from 11 percent of the continental US, with much of that being drought-prone land. That vulnerability is compounded by scores of dams and irrigation diversions, which has left significant portions of the river dry in recent years. In 2001 the river failed to reach the Gulf of Mexico for the first time.
Wild and Scenic River, Texas
It is an irresistible playground where unruly rapids check your skills as a canyon wren’s definitive call cascades down ancient limestone cliffs. Below the chasm, the canyon’s raw beauty dances across mirrored water. While the primal nature of the river stirs hunger for spirited adventure, the river is also an undulant ribbon of wetland corridor and, against all odds, the lifeblood of the desert.
Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument, New Mexico
The Río Grande del Norte National Monument is comprised of rugged, wide open plains at an average elevation of 7,000 feet, dotted by volcanic cones, and cut by steep canyons with rivers tucked away in their depths. The Rio Grande carves an 800 foot deep gorge through layers of volcanic basalt flows and ash.

Facts

The Rio Grande is the fourth longest river in the United States, flowing approximately 1,896 miles from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, forming part of the U.S.-Mexican border along the way. Because its length is debated it is either North America's fourth or fifth longest river. The Rio Grande watershed (area of land that is drained by the river) is approximately 335,000 square miles. 1250 miles of the Rio Grande make up the United States and Mexican border, an area that has been in dispute throughout history once the region began to be settled by Europeans and Mexico fought for land they believed they owned. In 1944 a treaty was signed between the U.S. and Mexico.

Other names for the Rio Grande have included Rio Bravo, Keresan (Big River), Tewa (Big River), Tiwa (Big River), and Towa (Great Waters).
The Rio Grande flows from Colorado through New Mexico, Texas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas.

The Rio Grande was designated an American Heritage River in 1997.

The Rio Grande's major tributaries include Red River, Rio Hondo, Rio Pueblo de Taos, Embudo River, Santa Fe River, Galisteo Creek, Alamito Creek, Terlingua Creek, Pecos River, Devils River, Conejos River, Rio Chama, Rio Conchos, Rio Salado, Rio Alamo, and San Juan River.

Dams along the Rio Grande include Rio Grande Dam, Retamal Dam, Anzalduas Dam, Falcon Dam, Amistad Dam, Caballo Dam, Elephant Butte Dam, and Cochiti Dam.

Major cities in the United States along the Rio Grande include Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Mesilla, Las Cruces, Truth or Consequence, El Paso, Presidio, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo, Rio Grande City, Brownsville, and McAllen.
Major cities in Mexico along the Rio Grande include Matamoros, Reynosa, Camargo, Nuevo Laredo, Peidras Negras, Ciudad Acuna, Ojinaga, and Ciudad Juarez.

The Rio Grande has been listed as one of the Most Endangered Rivers since 1993.
The Rio Grande river first failed to reach the Gulf of Mexico in in 2001 when a sandbar formed.