Rio Grande Valley

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) or the Lower Rio Grande Valley (when referring to the eight county region), informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas. It lies along the northern bank of the Rio Grande river, which separates Mexico from the United States.

Geography

The Rio Grande Valley is not a true valley, but a floodplain, containing many oxbow lakes or resacas formed from pinched-off meanders in earlier courses of the Rio Grande. Early 20th-century land developers, attempting to capitalize on unclaimed land, utilized the name "Magic Valley" to attract settlers and appeal to investors. The Rio Grande Valley is also called El Valle, the Spanish translation of "the valley", by those who live there. The residents of the Rio Grande Valley occasionally refer to the area as "El Mágico Valle del Río Grande" ("The Magical Valley of the Rio Grande"), and also simply by the initials R.G.V.

The main region is within four Texan counties: Starr County, Hidalgo County, Willacy County, and Cameron County. As of January 1, 2012, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of the Rio Grande Valley at 1,305,782. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008, 86 percent of Cameron County, 90 percent of Hidalgo County, 97 percent of Starr County, and 86 percent of Willacy County are Hispanic.

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande (/ˈriːoʊ ˈɡrænd/ or /ˈriːoʊ ˈɡrɑːndeɪ/; Spanish: Río Bravo del Norte, pronounced: [ˈri.o ˈβɾaβo ðel ˈnorte] or simply Río Bravo) is one of the principal rivers in the southwest United States and northern Mexico (the other being the Colorado River). The Rio Grande rises from south-central Colorado in the United States and flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, it forms part of the Mexico–United States border. According to the International Boundary and Water Commission, its total length was 1,896 miles (3,051 km) in the late 1980s, though course shifts occasionally result in length changes. Depending on how it is measured, the Rio Grande is the fourth- or fifth-longest river system in North America.

The river serves as part of the natural border between the U.S. state of Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. A very short stretch of the river serves as the boundary between the U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico. Since the mid–20th century, heavy water consumption of farms and cities along with many large diversion dams on the river has left only 20% of its natural discharge to flow to the Gulf. Near the river's mouth, the heavily irrigated Rio Grande Valley is an important agricultural region. The Rio Grande is one of 19 Great Waters recognized by America's Great Waters Coalition.

Rio Grande (Jamaica)

The Rio Grande is a popular river of Jamaica, found in the parish of Portland. It was named when the Spanish occupied Jamaica in the 15th and 16th centuries. One of the largest rivers in Jamaica, it was named "Big River" (Rio Grande) by the Spanish, and today is one of the many tourist attractions in Portland, mainly for rafting.

See also

References

Coordinates: 18°12′N 76°31′W / 18.200°N 76.517°W / 18.200; -76.517

Río Grande (Río Grande, Puerto Rico)

The Río Grande (sometimes called the Río El Yunque) is a river in the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico that flows through the El Yunque National Forest and the town of Río Grande.

References

Coordinates: 18°22′45″N 65°49′28″W / 18.3791160°N 65.8243303°W / 18.3791160; -65.8243303