The Rio Grande Estuary

September 01, 2021

_CQ_0179-Pano copia

Photographer: César Cantú

Summary Author: César Cantú; Cadan Cummings

A small estuary forms at the mouth of the Rio Grande in the Gulf of Mexico, on the left side is Mexico and on the right is the United States. While the Rio Grande flows south from its source in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, the river loses large amounts of water in three dams (Caballo, La Amistad, and Falcón). For the first approximately 650 miles (1046 km), the river flows through the arid Southwestern United States. After traversing the length of New Mexico, it becomes part of the US-Mexico border for the remainder of its 1,200 mile (1930 km) length. The International Boundary and Water Commission measured the total length of the Rio Grande in the 1980’s to be approximately 1,896 miles (3,051 km), however, this distance occasionally varies due to course changes in the river. Due to these small variations in how the river is officially measured, the Rio Grande is either the fourth or fifth longest river system in North America.

Photo data: Composite photo of 9 panorama images at 35mm, using a Canon EOS R camera, ISO 100, 1/125 second shutter at f / 9.

 


View Larger Map