Rio Grande Big Bend National Park- TX, US
N 29° 10.059 W 103° 36.623
13R E 635136 N 3227358
From the center of Big Bend proceed south west on the Alpine road follow directions that point you toward Santa Elena Canyon Continue on the road to the end. There is ample parking at the very end of the road.
Waymark Code: WMR032
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/21/2016
Views: 7
The Rio Grande begins its journey to the Gulf of Mexico from springs and snow melt high in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Along its way to the sea, the Rio Grande travels almost 2,000 miles. As it flows southward, its waters are diverted for flood control, irrigation, power generation, municipal uses, and recreation.
By the time the Rio Grande leaves El Paso, so much water has been diverted that the riverbed between El Paso and Presidio often lies dry. Depending upon annual rainfall patterns, 69 to 86 percent of the water in the Rio Grande downstream from Presidio flows from the Mexican Rio Conchos, which originates in the Sierra Madre of western Chihuahua. The Rio Conchos joins the Rio Grande near Ojinaga, Chihuahua and Presidio, Texas.
For more than 1,000 miles the Rio Grande serves as the international boundary between Mexico and the United States; Big Bend National Park administers approximately one-quarter of that boundary. The Rio Grande also defines the park’s southern boundary for 118 twisting miles. It is within this stretch that the Rio Grande’s southeasterly flow changes abruptly to the northeast and forms the “big bend” of the Rio Grande.
In 1978, Congress designated a 196-mile portion of the Rio Grande as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Only the upper 69 miles of the Wild and Scenic River lie within the park’s boundary; the remaining 127 miles lie downstream of the park’s boundary. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act directs that designated rivers “...be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they...be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.”
Because the Rio Grande serves as an international boundary, the park’s jurisdiction extends only to the middle of the deepest river channel; the rest of the river lies within the Republic of Mexico. On the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River section downstream from the park’s boundary, the park administers only from the gradient boundary at the river’s edge on the United States’ side to the middle of the deepest channel.
WILD: yes
Number of WILD miles: 196
SCENIC: yes
Number of SCENIC miles: 69
RECREATIONAL: no
Number of RECREATIONAL miles: 118
River Link: [Web Link]
Support documentation: [Web Link]
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