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Show Chapter 1 Regional Character and Growth1 Physical Description of the Basin Water is the most important natural resource of the Rio Grande Basin. It limits the use of the land and the distribution of the people. It is the foundation of the agriculture, and supports the range and timber. As all plant and animal life is in delicate balance with water, any variation in the amount received or in the manner of its occurrence and its use immediately becomes serious. Many problems have arisen in the basin as a result of man's activities. These include erosion problems, sedimentation problems, and changes in the flow of streams. The Rio Grande is one of America's longest rivers. Its headwater streams reach high up into regions of perpetual snow in the Rockies, 1,800 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The river drains an area of 185,000 square miles in southwestern United States and adjacent territory in Mexico. Of this extensive area, 105,200 square miles (57 1 The original draft of this study was prepared during 1950 by the Committee on River Program Analysis of the Commission. The following persons served on the com- mittee, participated in the planning or review of the re- port, and contributed data to it: Culver A. Ainsworth, International Boundary and Water Commission. George E. Bradley, Production and Marketing Ad- ministration, Department of Agriculture. Ralph Charles, Bureau of Reclamation. J. P. Coony, Corps of Engineers. Harold B. Elmendorf, Soil Conservation Service, Department of Agriculture. Samuel H. Gale, Corps of Engineers. George V. Gray, Corps of Engineers. William E. Holy, Public Health Service. Walter Kurylo, Bureau of Public Roads, Depart- ment of Commerce. D. V. McCarthy, Bureau of Reclamation. Sterling R. March, Department of Commerce. percent) are in the United States. Adjoining closed basins in Colorado and New Mexico include 25,000 square miles and are considered part of the Rio Grande Basin. Despite the fact that it rises among the snow-clad peaks of Colorado and is fed by mountain streams, the Rio Grande is a lazy shallow stream throughout much of its length; its waters often flow as a mere trickle in a shifting sandy channel. For almost half its length it is the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. The Continental Divide forms the western bound- ary of the basin. The Sangre de Cristo Range forms the eastern boundary in the upper basin, tailing off into low rolling hills without marked relief in the lower basin. The Rio Grande has one large tributary in the United States, the Pecos River, which rises in the northeastern part of New Mexico and flows southward along the east side of that State into Texas to join the main stem of the Rio Grande in the international boundary section. The basin John L. Mutz, Bureau of Reclamation. Kenneth W. Ross, Federal Power Commission. R. F. Stellar, Corps of Engineers. Jewell Rasmussen, President's Water Resources Policy Commission. Isabel Picken, President's Water Resources Policy Commission, committee secretary. Walter C. Lowdermilk, President's Water Resources Policy Commission, committee chairman. The study is based on information available between May and October 1950, including special basin reports submitted to the Commission by interested Federal agen- cies. Following preparation of the original draft by the Committee on River Program Analysis the study was edited and revised by Edward A. Ackerman, John G. Beebe, John M. Carmody, Patricia Howse, Edward N. Munns, Evelyn S. Myers, Jane G. Perry, and Isabel Picken. Individual committee members or the agencies where they are employed therefore may or may not be in agreement with particular conclusions here presented. 285 |
