Texas Almanac, 1996-1997 Page: 73
672 p. : col. ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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Environment
MAJOR AQUIFERS
EXPLANATION
MAJOR AQUIFERS
U Alh", O * **n OP0located in El Paso and Hudspeth counties in far west-
em Texas and occur in Quaternary basin-fill deposits
that extend northward into New Mexico and westward
into Mexico. The Hueco Bolson, located on the east-
em side of the Franklin Mountains, consists of up to
9,000 feet of clay, silt, sand and gravel and is the prin-
cipal source of drinking water for both El Paso and
Juarez. Located west of the Franklin Mountains, the
Mesilla Bolson reaches up to 2,000 feet in thickness
and contains three separate water-producing zones.
Ground-water depletion of the Hueco Bolson has
become a serious problem. Historical large-scale
ground-water withdrawals, especially for the municipal
uses of El Paso and Juarez, have caused major water-
level declines and significntly changed the direction of
flow, causing a deterioration of the chemical quality of
the ground water in the aquifer.
Cenozoic Pecos Alluvium - Located in the upper
Pecos River Valley of West Texas, this aquifer is the
principal source of water for irrigation in Reeves and
northwestern Pecos counties and for industrial uses,
power supply and municipal use elsewhere. Consist-
ing of up to 1,500 feet of alluvial fill, the aquifer occu-
pies two hydrologically separate basins: the Pecos
Trough in the west and the Monument Draw Trough in
the east. Water from the aquifer is generally hard and
contains dissolved-solids concentrations ranging from
less than 300 to more than 5,000 parts per milion.Water-level declines in excess of 200 feet have histor-
ically occurred in Reeves and Pecos counties, but
have moderated since the mid-1970s with the
decrease in irrigation pumpage.
Major Rivers
Some 11,247 named streams are identified in the
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Infor-
mation System. Their combined length is about
80,000 miles, and they drain 263,513 square miles
within Texas. Thirteen major rivers are described
below, starting with the southernmost and moving
northward:
Rio Grande
The Pueblo Indians called this river P'osoge, "river
of great water." In 1582, Antonio de Espejo of Nueva
Vizcaya, Mexico, followed the course of the Rio Con-
chos 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 Ofiate, who arrived on its banks
near present-day El Paso in 1598.
Thereafter the names were often consolidated, 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 Gana-
petuan. In its lower course it early acquired the nameU
STATE OF TEXAS
Department of Water ResourcesEdwards-Tmhny (P',ote)
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Ramos, Mary G. Texas Almanac, 1996-1997, book, 1995; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162514/m1/73/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.