Welcome and Bienvenidos!

The Rio Grande – also known as the Río Bravo del Norte in Mexico – is a 1,885-mile river that starts in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and ends at the Gulf of Mexico. We invite you to join us Saturday, October 16 to celebrate the beauty and power of this magnificent river and its associated tributaries.

Rio Grande Watershed

The Rio Grande watershed covers 336,000 sq. mi. across eight states: Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas (U.S.) and Durango, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas (Mexico). The river basin is considered arid to semi-arid. Its headwaters begin with clear snow-fed mountain streams in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. From there, the river traverses across plateaus, deserts and coastal plains. The main industries that benefit from the river are agriculture, livestock operations, mining and recreation.

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Rio Grande Tributaries

Given its length, the Rio Grande has numerous tributaries big and small on both sides of the border. Its principal tributaries are the Pecos, Devils, Conejos, Chama and Puerco rivers in the United States, and the Conchos, San Juan, and Salado rivers in Mexico. The largest tributary, in terms of water flow, is the Rio Conchos. It’s one of the most important river systems in northern Mexico and courses through the state of Chihuahua before emptying into Amistad Dam. The Pecos River has the largest basin drainage area.

Interactive Map

The attached map shows a list of approximately 500 groups who are stewards of the Rio Grande. Our organization, the Rio Grande International Study Center, undertook this project with the hopes of identifying all stakeholders of the watershed in the United States and Mexico. Contact information is listed on each stakeholder pin. Feel free to scroll through the map and familiarize yourself with the different parts of the Rio Grande basin.


View RGISC in a larger map

Colorado

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The headwaters of the iconic Rio Grande and many of its tributaries are located on the continental divide in south-central Colorado. The river flows from the high country in the Rio Grande National Forest,...

New Mexico

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 Had not they stumbled upon the welcoming waters of the Rio Bravo, Don Juan de Onate’s 16th century Spanish colonists likely would have perished before ever reaching Nuevo Mejico. 

Texas

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5,000,000 Texans live within the Rio Grande~Rio Bravo watershed.  The southern border of Texas, one of the most identifiable borders in the world, constitutes 65% of the entire US-Mexico...

 

Durango & Chihuahua

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La Región Bravo-Conchos es la que mas número de cuencas presenta y se forma del límite noreste, hacia el centro y sur de chihuahua, Cuenca R. Bravo-Ojinaga, R. Bravo- Cd. Juárez, que ubica a este...

Coahuila

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Con un área de 150,395 kilómetros cuadrados, es el tercer estado más grande de México. En este estado se ubican dos ciudades fronterizas importantes: Ciudad Acuña con su ciudad gemela ...

Nuevo Leon & Tamaulipas

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Aunque el estado de Nuevo León sólo bordea al Rio Bravo por menos de 80 km, casi la mitad del estado se encuentra dentro de la cuenca. Nuevo León es uno de los principales estados industriales de México.

 

Never in the history of the planet has a major watershed had a water-testing performed on the same day. On October 6, nearly 50 schools, 35 on the US side and 15 on the Mexico side will perform such an historic feat. It is being called the Rio Research Roundup.

En la historia de nuestro planeta no se registra un evento en que se haya llevado a cabo de una manera simultanea un muestreo y análisis del agua a lo largo de toda la  cuenca de un Río importante. El día 6 de octubre, casi 50 escuelas, 35 en el lado de los Estados Unidos y 15 escuelas en el lado de México van a lleva a cabo este histórico evento.   En el lado Americano se le dió el nombre de Río Research Roundup y el de Muestreo del agua del Río Bravo en el lado Mexicano.  

Students under the guidance of their teachers will use water testing kits to measure some 10 parameters of their section of the Rio Grande~Rio Bravo watershed. Students will record their testing and document their activities with video which will then be posted on YouTube.

Grupos de estudíantes bajo la supervisión y dirección de sus maestros usarán estuches de muestreo y análisis para medir 10 parámetros en su sección de la cuenca del Río Grande/Río Bravo.  Los estudíantes anotarán los resulados de sus análisis y documentarán sus actividades tomando un video que después subirán a YouTube. 

In addition to the water testing, each school will collect samples of river water and put them in special containers, labeled with their school, state and portion of the Rio. These containers will be used in another historical event launched the same day as the water testing Roundup. The Rio Relay. The Rio Relay starts at the headwaters in Colorado and will work its way down to the mouth of the river at the Gulf of Mexico on October 16 for a special Dia del Rio 2010 ceremony.

Además de los análisis del agua, los estudíantes recojerán muestras del agua del Río que colocarán en recipientes especiales marcados con el nombre de su escuela, estado y segmento del Río.  Estos recipientes con agua se usarán en otro evento histórico que se iniciará el mismo día que se inicia el muestreo del agua del Río.  La Carrera del Río, que se se iniciará en el nacimiento del Río en el estado de Colorado y seguirá a lo largo de todo el Río hasta su desembocadura en el Golfo de México, el día 16 de octubre donde culminará durante una ceremonia especial en celebración de el Día del Río 2010.