Many Rivers to Cross – Rio Grande

TThe legendary Rio Grande Gorge is a remote chasm of rugged basalt cliffs plunging over eight hundred feet to the river. It’s a stunning wilderness alive with the cries of ravens, falcons, and eagles, and the deep echoing roar of world-class white water, but there’s a darker side to this story. Because the waters of the Rio Grande originate as melting snow high in the Rocky Mountains, the raging spring floods have carved deep beautiful canyons across the Taos Mesa. Many species of wildlife live here, including elk, deer, beaver, and mountain lions.

The second longest river in the United States, the Rio Grande begins in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, winds through New Mexico, and then runs along the bend of Texas before cutting through Mexico and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Or it used to. Today it is one of the world’s top ten most at risk rivers and in the summer of 2001, the river dried up before it could even reach the Gulf of Mexico.

Along its course, the greatest threat facing the river is water extraction. More than 80 percent of the water taken from the river during its southern journey is mined for agriculture. Droughts also contribute to dry river conditions, and an increasing amount of water is being taken for municipal needs. More than ten million people live in the river’s basin, and there are four major cities along the river growing at a rate between two and four percent. Near the delta, saltwater fish have moved farther upstream and have replaced nearly forty species of native fish because of increased salinity due to a lower concentration of fresh water. Invasive salt cedar trees suck up massive amounts of water as they spread up the Rio Grande’s shores. To help combat the problems, the international environmental groups are educating local communities on water conservation, working to develop water saving techniques for cotton and pecan farms, and moving to eradicate the water-guzzling salt cedar. Special enviro-tourism programmes have been established, including white water rafting, so that visitors can help remove invasive species, learning how to help conserve water at home and contribute to the Rio Grande’s future while away.

Rio Grande photograph by dairycow2, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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