Crisis on the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande existed long before humans. It may not outlive us. Through millions of years, the river is mapped in strata, in oral traditions. More recently, in computer models, too. All tell of rapidly receding waters. A shrunken Rio Grande remains for thirstier landscapes and wildlife drawn to its banks. For people, too. The river is low because people take from it, and because we reshaped it — both exacerbated by climate change. Source New Mexico presents a series of stories that span nearly 700 miles of the Upper Rio Grande, from the headwaters in Colorado to the Forgotten Reach about 100 miles inside Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border. Loss and heartache flow through them as the river suffers. Eddies of denial surface, and some seedlings of restoration. But even those are under threat. These are the narratives that shape people who live along the river, just as we shape its waters.
Living on the knife’s edge, even at the source of the Rio Grande
RIO GRANDE RESERVOIR, Colo — After 15 miles of pockmarked dirt road, the Rio Grande spreads wide in the shadows of the San Juan Mountains. It glitters, aqua, whitecaps whipped up by the wind. But even in the birthplace of the river lay the stark stains of climate change. Deep, bald scars pucker the mountaintops, […]
A river wounded: Crisis on the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande existed long before humans. It may not outlive us. Through millions of years, the river is mapped in strata, in oral traditions. More recently, in computer models. All tell of rapidly receding waters. A shrunken Rio Grande remains for thirstier landscapes and wildlife drawn to its banks. For people, too. The river […]
Crisis on the Rio Grande
The Rio Grande existed long before humans. It may not outlive us. Through millions of years, the river is mapped in strata, in oral traditions. More recently, in computer models, too. All tell of rapidly receding waters. A shrunken Rio Grande remains for thirstier landscapes and wildlife drawn to its banks. For people, too. The river is low because people take from it, and because we reshaped it — both exacerbated by climate change. Source New Mexico presents a series of stories that span nearly 700 miles of the Upper Rio Grande, from the headwaters in Colorado to the Forgotten Reach about 100 miles inside Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border. Loss and heartache flow through them as the river suffers. Eddies of denial surface, and some seedlings of restoration. But even those are under threat. These are the narratives that shape people who live along the river, just as we shape its waters.
The River's Path
Colorado
After 15 miles of pockmarked dirt road, the Rio Grande spreads wide in the shadows of the San Juan Mountains. It glitters, aqua, whitecaps whipped up by the wind. But even in the birthplace of the river lay the stark stains of climate change.
New Mexico
The river is a silver thread ribboning its way through New Mexico, enhanced by a brocade of greenery. It roars to life through the tall pines, curves through the canyons carved by its steadfast course.
Texas
The river stretches across the state line. Water seeps into the soil and evaporates under a scorching sun. Salt beads like pearls in a cracked riverbed, invasive saltcedar a thick wall on the bank. This is where the snowmelt ends.
