The importance of the Rio Grande lies especially in that it represents the international boundary between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic. The Rio Grande forms the border between the state of Texas (USA) and Mexico.
According to the International Boundary and Water Commission, its total length at the end of the 1980s was 3,089 km. Today its length ranges between 3,051 and 3,060 km, depending on changes in the course of the river.
Bravo River
Also known as the Rio Grande across the border, it is considered the fifth longest river in North America, and the twentieth longest river in the world.
The Rio Grande originates in the Rio Grande National Forest, in Colorado (USA), and from there flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Rio Grande basin has about 471,900 km². About half of the basin belongs to the United States, and the other half to Mexico.
What is the importance of the Rio Grande?
The Rio Grande is extremely important to both the United States and Mexico. Here are some of the most relevant aspects around this topic:
- According to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, from the year 1848 the Rio Grande constitutes the basis for the establishment of the international boundary between Mexico and the United States.
This, after Mexico ceded more than two million square kilometers of territory over the current US states of New Mexico, California, Utah, Texas and Nevada, in addition to sections of Wyoming, Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.
- In the ecological aspect, the region is in a desert area, with savannas and plains that include extremely arid areas such as the Chihuahuan desert and the highlands of New Mexico.
Here is the relevance of the Rio Grande, as a balance of the arid geography of the place in times of drought.
- The riverbed of the Rio Grande is used as a source of hydraulic energy to guarantee the supply of electricity to the inhabitants of the area.
The states of Colorado (in part), New Mexico, Chihuahua, Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas use a common hydraulic source to meet their electrical energy requirements thanks to the Rio Grande.
- In the vicinity of the Rio Grande there are also five large water dams that manage the supply of drinking water in the surrounding region.
The largest dams are located in the state of New Mexico and along the border between Mexico and Texas.
- The water from the Rio Grande is also used for agricultural purposes. Agricultural activity in the River basin depends on it.
The Rio Grande Valley has extremely fertile soils, and today there are approximately 800,000 hectares of cotton, citrus and vegetables in general. In addition, the Rio Grande also favors the practice of livestock in the area.
- From an economic point of view, although the Rio Grande is only navigable for some small vessels, it also represents a potential source of economic resources, given the mining of gold, silver, copper, zinc, among other materials.
Likewise, the tourist activity that takes place along the length of the river is quite lucrative.
References
- Buchot, E (2016). The American rivers: the Rio Grande. Recovered from: voyagesphotosmanu.com
- Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (2017) Rio Grande. London, England. Recovered from: britannica.com
- GeoEnccyclopedia (2017). Bravo River. Recovered from: geoenciclopedia.com
- Saldaña, T (2012). Water rituals on the Bravo / Grande River: a transnational political and ecological inheritance. Postgraduate College of Mexico, Mexico. Recovered from: library.arizona.edu
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2017). Bravo River. USA. Recovered from: en.wikipedia.org.