Stretching nearly 1,900 miles from the Colorado Rockies to the salty Gulf of Mexico, the Rio Grande has been the stuff of Southwestern lore, sustained entire cultures and nourished wildlife in an otherwise unforgiving part of the planet. The Rio Grande is the third-longest river wholly in the United States , exceeded only by the Yukon and the combined Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Drained by farmers, divided by treaty, feuded over in courtrooms and neglected when not pumped and drained, the Rio Grande is at once one of America’s most famous rivers and one of its most abused. If we don’t think we need the Rio Grande for its water, are we willing to save it for its own sake? The Rio Grande is so long that when Europeans first arrived they didn’t realize it was all the same, roiling body of water.

Source: New York Times September 08, 2018 20:13 UTC