Along the way, the Rio Grande passes through three states in the United States (Colorado, New Mexico, Texas) and four in the Republic of Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas). In total, the Rio Grande stretches about 2,000 miles (3220 km) from its headwaters along the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado to its outflow into the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico. The Rio Grande is the dominant river system in New Mexico in terms of the area of its watershed, or the area of land from which water drains into the river (see The Upper Watershed section below for a more thorough explanation of watersheds). Numerous smaller rivers and creeks all drain into one of these systems, or in a few cases into closed basins with no outflow. A fifth major river, the Pecos, drains into the Rio Grande in Texas and so is considered part of that system. The state of New Mexico contains three distinct river systems: the Rio Grande, the Canadian River, which eventually drains into the Mississippi, and the San Juan and Gila rivers, which both drain into the Colorado. This brief introduction provides you, the educator, with background information to support the activities that follow. The first step to help the bosque is to learn its ways, to understand the complexity of this ecological system and to share this knowledge with others. Active restoration of native habitats is underway and local people are joining together to save the forests that remain. Non-native plants and animals have spread throughout the valley, often displacing the native species without changes in current water management practices, non-native trees and shrubs will soon dominate the bosque.įortunately, many citizens of the valley recognize the ecological, cultural and aesthetic values of the bosque and surrounding wetlands. Wetlands, once common in the floodplain, have been greatly reduced and the cottonwood forests are dying out. Regulation of water flow in the river has not only impacted the organisms that live in the water, but has also changed the mosaic of vegetation types once present in the valley. Unfortunately, the Rio Grande and its bosque have been heavily altered by human activities, especially during the last century. Known locally as the bosque (pronounced boh-skay), a Spanish word for “forest,” these riparian, or riverside, forests provide valuable resources for animals and plants living in the arid Southwest. The cottonwood forest that borders the Rio Grande in central New Mexico is a remnant of a unique and diminishing habitat. The Bosque Needs Our Help: Research and Restorationĭepartment of Biology, University of New Mexico.Plants and Animals of the Rio Grande Valley.About the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center.Virtual Tour-Sayaka Ganz: Reclaimed Creations.Sensory Friendly Evenings at the Museum.
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