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Article: Travel: The complete guide to Rio Grande The `Big River' is, at 1,900 miles, one of the true water giants of the United States and marks the border with Mexico. Its banks have seen the birth of the cowboy, a native people betrayed, and the beginnings of the most feared airforce in the world. By David Orkin
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- May 20, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2000 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WHERE EXACTLY IS THE RIO GRANDE?
The source of the Rio Grande (Spanish for "Big River") is just
east of the Continental Divide in the Weminuche Wilderness Area of
Colorado's San Juan Mountains. Flowing east through the Upper Rio
Grande Valley, flanked by mountains of over 12,000 feet, it then
turns south through the San Luis Valley and onwards into the state of
New Mexico.
The river flows through the city of Albuquerque before bending to
the south east and crossing into Texas at El Paso. From Texas' south
west corner, the river runs 1,200 more miles before reaching the Gulf
of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean: for all its length through Texas
the Rio Grande forms the International border ...