Texas Almanac, 1961-1962 Page: 78
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78 TEXAS ALMANAC--1961-1962
Texas Drainage Basin
The entire Texas drainage system consists
of about 3,700 streams of various size, vari-
ously designated as rivers, bayous, creeks,
arroyos, branches, etc., according to the
Gazetteer of Texas Streams, published by
the United States Geological Survey. The
total length of these streams can be esti-
mated at from 70,000 to 80,000 miles. Their
total Texas drainage area is the area of
Texas, 263,513 square miles, but some of
these streams, such as the Rio Grande and
Red River have large drainage areas outside
Texas.
Most of the rivers of Texas were named
during the period of Spanish and Mexican
domination and 75 per cent of them have
Spanish names, as stated above. Most of the
creeks, bayous, branches and other smaller
streams were named after the coming of the
Anglo-American and most of them have Eng-
lish names. The most popular name of the
smaller streams of Texas is cottonwood.
There are 52 creeks, bayous and branches
named cottonwood. The next most popular
name is Spring. There are 48 Spring Creeks
and branches in Texas. Other popular names
with the number of streams bearing them
are: Cedar 46, Elm 36, Turkey 32, Caney 32,
Mill 31, Brushy 30, Dry 29, Long 29, Bear 28,
Walnut 28, Indian 27, Willow 26, Rocky 26,
Primary Streams of the
The thirteen rivers in the list below are not
the thirteen largest Texas rivers as measured
by length, drainage area, and volume of flow.
There are some tributary rivers that are
larger by these characteristics. But these
thirteen rivers are the principal independent
channels which, with their tributaries, drain
the "Texas Basin", flowing from the upland
plains across the Coastal Plain to the Gulf.
The entire length of most of them lies within
Texas; others flow along the Texas border
or flow part of their course through Texas
and part of their way through other states.
RIO GRANDE
The Rio Grande is one of the remarkable
rivers of the world. The name means *"Great
River" in English. It is a great river in
many senses. With its approximately 2,200
miles length, it is the fourth river in length
in North'America, exceeded by only the Mis-
sissippi-Missouri, the McKenzie-Peace and
the Yukon. It has great variety of character
-snow-fed mountain stream, desert stream,
canyon-enclosed torrent, meandering coastal
river. From source to mouth it drops from
12,000 feet altitude to sea level. Its valley in
several areas has been the scene of roman-
tic historical development since the beginning
of white settlement on the North American
Continent. Its valley was the home of ad-
vanced Indian civilization many years before
the coming of the white man. It has been of
great service to mankind as carrier of water
to areas of need. Only a few of the world's
rivers irrigate more land than does the Rio
Grande. For about 1,300 miles it serves as
the boundary line between the United States
and Mexico. This is the longest river bound-
ary line in the Western Hemisphere and
with one possible exception, the longest in
the world.
River With Many Names
The Rio Grande has had more names than
any other Texas river-probably more names
than any other river in North America. The
first name given it was Rio de las Palmas,
by the Spanish explorer, Alonso Alvarez de
Pineda. who sailed along the coast of Texas
*There is an excellent account of the Rio G:ande
in the book, "Great River" by Paul Horgan, pub-
lished by Rinehart & Company.Sandy 25, Mustang 24, Salt 24, Pecan 22,
Prairie 20.
While most of these smaller streams flow
only intermittently, their flow varies greatly
from low to high and some of them average
40,000 to 200,000 acre-feet a year, sufficient
to maintain a large reservoir. There are
many excellent dam sites on these smaller
streams and they undoubtedly will be util-
ized in the future water conservation pro-
gram of Texas which will have as one of its
problems the holding of as much water as
possible in the upper parts of the drainage
basins.
On the following pages are two lists of
Texas Streams. Included in the first are
thirteen that may be classed as primary in
the Texas Basin. They are not in all instances
among the twelve largest as measured by
length of channel, area of drainage basin
or flow, but they are picked because their
geographic position makes them independent
of other streams.
A short description of each of these is
given, relating to length, drainage area, flow
in channel and origin of name. In the second
list are the secondary streams (rivers,
bayous, creeks, arroyos, branches, etc.),
which have as much as 50 miles length, with
statement as to location, length and other
physical characteristics.
Texas Drainage Basin
in 1519 and entered the mouth of this river.
This was the first name given a river any-
where on the continent north of Mexico.
In 1582, Antonio de Espejo of Nueva Viz-
caya, Mexico, on an expedition to the north,
followed the course of the Rio Conchos to its
confluence with a great river, which Espejo
named Rio del Norte. (River of the North.)
The name, Rio Grande, was first given the
stream apparently by the explorer, Juan de
Onate who arrived on its banks near present-
day El Paso in 1598.
Thereafter the names were often consoli-
dated, as Rio Grande del Norte. (It has its
counterpart in the Portuguese Rio Grande do
Sul in the state of that name in Brazil.) It
was shown also on early Spanish maps as
Rio San Buenaventura and Rio Ganapetuan.
In its lower course it early acquired the
name Rio Bravo, and it is called by that
name today by many Mexicans living in its
valley. At times it has also been known as
Rio Turbio, probably because of its appear-
ance during its frequent rises.
The Rio Grande rises at the Continental Di-
vide in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest
Colorado. In Colorado its snow-fed flow is
easterly into a broad valley where its waters
are first used for irrigation. It turns south
in a canyon through South Central Colorado
and North Central New Mexico, entering an-
other broad valley in Central New Mexico
where its waters are again used for irriga-
tion. This is the oldest irrigated area in the
United States dating from the late 1600's
when the Spanish missionaries taught the In-
dians how to lay out irrigation ditches. In
this valley is Santa Fe, the second oldest city
in the United States. In Southern New Mexico
the river's water is impounded in Elephant
Butte reservoir and used for irrigating a
strip of valley land extending from about 50
miles above El Paso to 100 miles below.
This is the oldest irrigated area in Texas
and one of the oldest In the United States.
In this valley are situated the three oldest
towns in Texas - Ysleta, Socorro and San
Elizarlo. At the lower end of the El Paso ir-
rigated valley, the upper Rio Grande, a
snow-fed mountain stream virtually ends ex-
cept in seasons of above-normal flow. The
extensive irrigated area below Elephant
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Texas Almanac, 1961-1962, book, 1961; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117140/m1/80/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.