Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is a major North American river flowing from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico. Its lower course forms part of the boundary between the United States and Mexico.

Rio Grande Compact: A 1938 agreement apportioning Rio Grande water among Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. It divides water from the river’s upper basin among three U.S. states.
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District: A New Mexico agency that manages irrigation, drainage, and flood control in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. Its canals and drains shape farming and water delivery around Albuquerque.
Rio Grande Rift: A continental rift zone extending from Colorado through New Mexico into northern Mexico. Rift basins helped determine the river’s path through New Mexico.
Colorado River: A major river flowing through the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico to the Gulf of California. Unlike the Rio Grande, it no longer regularly reaches the sea in most years.
International Boundary and Water Commission: A U.S.–Mexico agency that administers boundary and water agreements between the countries. It manages shared river works and water obligations along the border.
Rio Grande Valley: A fertile, densely settled region along the lower Rio Grande in Texas and northeastern Mexico. Its farms and communities depend heavily on the river’s scarce water.
John Wesley Powell: An American geologist and explorer who led major expeditions through the western United States. His geographic work helped establish English-language usage of “Rio Grande.”
Pecos River: A river rising in New Mexico and flowing southeast into the Rio Grande in Texas. It is one of the largest tributaries entering the Rio Grande from the east.
Elephant Butte Reservoir: A reservoir on the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, formed by Elephant Butte Dam. Its releases regulate irrigation supplies downstream in New Mexico and Texas.
Bosque: A Spanish term for woodland, used in the Southwest for the cottonwood forest along the Rio Grande. The river’s floodplain supports a distinctive corridor of riparian woodland.

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