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109-754: Baseball in the region of the Rio Grande Valley had been played before in the Gulf States League (Class A ball), which lasted one season (1976) with six teams, one of which played in Harlingen, Texas by the name of the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings . Eighteen years later, the Texas–Louisiana League was formed, done on the frustrations of Dallas businessman Byron Pierce and U.S. Congressman John Bryant of

218-430: A brine pool 3,300 feet (1,000 m) below the gulf's surface, with a circumference of 100 feet (30 m) and 12 feet (3.7 m) feet deep, which is four to five times saltier than the rest of the water. The first exploration of the site was unmanned, using Hercules and in 2015 a team of three used the deep-submergence vehicle Alvin . The site cannot sustain any kind of life other than bacteria , mussels with

327-719: A floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The region includes the southernmost tip of South Texas and a portion of northern Tamaulipas , Mexico. It consists of the Brownsville , Harlingen , Weslaco , Donna , Pharr , McAllen , Edinburg , Mission , San Juan , and Rio Grande City metropolitan areas in the United States and the Matamoros , Río Bravo , and Reynosa metropolitan areas in Mexico. The area

436-582: A hypoxic dead zone that runs east–west along the Texas–Louisiana coastline. In July 2008, researchers reported that between 1985 and 2008, the area roughly doubled in size. It was 8,776 square miles (22,730 km ) in 2017, the largest ever recorded. Poor agricultural practices in the northern portion of the Gulf of Mexico have led to a tremendous increase of nitrogen and phosphorus in neighboring marine ecosystems, which has resulted in algae blooms and

545-480: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred about 250 miles (400 km) west-southwest of Anna Maria, Florida . The quake was reportedly felt from Louisiana to Florida. There were no reports of damage or injuries. Items were knocked from shelves and seiches were observed in swimming pools in parts of Florida. The earthquake was described by the USGS as an intraplate earthquake , the largest and most widely felt recorded in

654-420: A symbiotic relationship , tube worms and certain kinds of shrimp . It has been called the "Jacuzzi of Despair". Because it is warmer than the surrounding water (65 °F or 18 °C compared to 39 °F or 4 °C), animals are attracted to it but cannot survive once they enter it. The Gulf of Mexico is 41 percent continental slope , 32 percent continental shelf , and 24 percent abyssal plain with

763-1015: A bomb scare in San Benito, Texas . This followed the desecration of a Santa Muerte statue in the San Benito Municipal Cemetery in January of the same year. In addition to the Catholic Church, several other Christian denominations are present in the Rio Grande Valley, including several organized Protestant churches in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. There are also 26 congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with about 17,000 members. Sikh , Muslim , Hindu , Jewish , Buddhist and Baháʼí Faith communities thrive in

872-726: A documentary about the project, short videos and video updates during the expedition. Video footage from the ROV was an integral part of this outreach and used extensively in the Mystery Mardi Gras Shipwreck documentary. On July 30, 1942, the Robert E. Lee , captained by William C. Heath, was torpedoed by the German submarine  U-166 . She was sailing southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi River when

981-722: A great harbor the master pilot Miruelo knew of. Sometime during these two days, one of the five remaining ships was lost on the rugged coast, but nothing else is known of it. In 1697 French sailor Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was chosen by the Minister of Marine to lead an expedition to rediscover the mouth of the Mississippi River and to colonize Louisiana which the English coveted. D'Iberville's fleet sailed from Brest on October 24, 1698. On January 25, 1699, d'Iberville reached Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola founded by

1090-492: A lack of available oxygen. Occurrences of masculinization and estrogen suppression were observed as a result. An October 2007 study of the Atlantic croaker found a disproportioned sex ratio of 61% males to 39% females in hypoxic sites. This was compared with a 52% to 48% male-female ratio found in reference sites, showing an impairment of reproductive output for fish populations inhabiting hypoxic coastal zones. According to

1199-480: A large scale from many of the bays and sounds. Other important industries along the coast include shipping, petrochemical processing and storage, military use, paper manufacture, and tourism. The gulf's warm water temperature can feed powerful Atlantic hurricanes causing extensive human death and other destruction as happened with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In the Atlantic, a hurricane will draw up cool water from

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1308-527: A license to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States, known as the Narváez expedition . The contract gave him one year to gather an army, leave Spain, be large enough to found at least two towns of 100 people each, and garrison two more fortresses anywhere along the coast. On April 7, 1528, they spotted land north of what is now Tampa Bay . They turned south and traveled for two days looking for

1417-574: A permanent cyclonic gyre in the Bay of Campeche, as well as anticyclonic gyres which are shed by the Loop Current and travel westward where they eventually dissipate. The Bay of Campeche constitutes a major arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, the gulf's shoreline is fringed by numerous bays and smaller inlets. Stream that empty into the gulf include the Mississippi River and the Rio Grande in

1526-605: A range of environmental organizations across the Rio Grande Valley, including the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, the South Texas Human Rights Center, TRUCHA, Voces Unidas, and Texas Rising RGV. The letter highlights the identities of Rio Grande Valley community members that are most often overlooked, including Indigenous voices. Now, there are large concerns regarding Elon Musk’s intentions to relocate

1635-688: A result of plate tectonics . The Gulf of Mexico basin is roughly oval in shape and is approximately 810 nautical miles (1,500 km; 930 mi) wide. Its floor consists of sedimentary rocks and recent sediments. It is connected to part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Florida between the U.S. and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea via the Yucatán Channel between Mexico and Cuba. Because of its narrow connection to

1744-422: A serious threat to marine life and adjacent coastal wetlands and to the livelihoods of Gulf Coast shrimpers and fishermen. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Sally Brice O'Hare stated that the U.S. government will be "employing booms, skimmers, chemical dispersants and controlled burns" to combat the oil spill. By May 1 the oil spill cleanup efforts were underway but hampered by rough seas and the "tea like" consistency of

1853-523: A surge of industrial development along the border, while international bridges have allowed Mexican nationals to shop, sell, and do business in the border cities along the Rio Grande. The geographic inclusion of South Padre Island also drives tourism, particularly during the Spring Break season, as its subtropical climate keeps temperatures warm year-round. During the winter months, many retirees (commonly referred to as "Winter Texans") arrive to enjoy

1962-454: Is a popular waypoint for tourists visiting northeast Mexico. Popular destinations across the border and Rio Grande include: Matamoros , Nuevo Progreso , Río Bravo , and Reynosa , all located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas . The region also attracts tourists from the Mexican states of Tamaulipas , Nuevo León , Coahuila , and Mexico, D.F. (México City). The ancestral lands of

2071-487: Is generally bilingual in English and Spanish, with a fair amount of Spanglish due to the region's diverse history and transborder agglomerations . It is home to some of the poorest cities in the nation, as well as many unincorporated, persistent poverty communities called colonias . A large seasonal influx occurs of "winter Texans" — people who come down from the north for the winter and then return north before summer arrives. Native peoples lived in small tribes in

2180-497: Is half the typical 40- kilometer (25  mi ) thickness of continental crust. It was at this time that rifting first created a connection to the Pacific Ocean across central Mexico and later eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. This flooded the opening basin to create an enclosed marginal sea. The subsiding transitional crust was blanketed by the widespread deposition of Louann Salt and associated anhydrite evaporites . During

2289-510: Is often used in the western United States to refer to a large expanse with rivers. Most such valleys, including the Rio Grande, have good agricultural production. Early 20th-century land developers, attempting to capitalize on unclaimed land, utilized the name "Magic Valley" to attract settlers and appeal to investors. The Rio Grande Valley is also called El Valle , the Spanish translation of "the valley", by those who live there. The main region

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2398-665: Is that before the late Triassic , the Gulf of Mexico did not exist. Before the Late Triassic, the area consisted of dry land, which included continental crust that now underlies Yucatán , within the middle of the supercontinent Pangaea . This land lay south of a continuous mountain range that extended from north-central Mexico, through the Marathon Uplift in west Texas and the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma , and to Alabama where it linked directly to

2507-419: Is widely disputed, and many historians doubt that it took place as described. In his letters, Vespucci described this trip, and once Juan de la Cosa returned to Spain, a famous world map was produced. In 1506 Hernán Cortés took part in the conquest of Hispaniola and Cuba, receiving a large estate of land and indigenous slaves for his effort. In 1510 he accompanied Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , an aide of

2616-515: Is within four Texan counties: Starr County , Hidalgo County , Willacy County , and Cameron County . The largest city on the American side of the region is Brownsville (Cameron County), followed by McAllen (Hidalgo County). Other major cities include Harlingen , San Benito , Edinburg , Mission , Rio Grande City , Raymondville , Weslaco , Hidalgo and Pharr . On the Mexican side of

2725-591: The Deepwater Horizon oil platform, located in the Mississippi Canyon about 40 miles (64 km) off the Louisiana coast, suffered a catastrophic explosion ; it sank a day and a half later. It was in the process of being sealed with concrete for temporary abandonment, to avoid environmental problems. Although initial reports indicated that relatively little oil had leaked, by April 24 it

2834-731: The Appalachian Mountains . It was created by the collision of continental plates that formed Pangaea. As interpreted by Roy Van Arsdale and Randel T. Cox, this mountain range was breached in the late Cretaceous by the formation of the Mississippi Embayment . The rifting that created the basin was associated with zones of weakness within Pangaea, including sutures where the Laurentia , South American , and African plates collided to create it. First, there

2943-518: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement ) to help predict the potential impacts of future oil/gas explorations. Since 1979, the specimens have been deposited in the national collections of the National Museum of Natural History. The major environmental threats to the gulf are agricultural runoff and oil drilling . There are 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells beneath

3052-585: The Gulf Coast of the United States ; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas , Veracruz , Tabasco , Campeche , Yucatán , and Quintana Roo ; and on the southeast by Cuba . The Southern U.S. states of Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , and Florida , which border the gulf on the north, are often referred to as the " Third Coast " of the United States (in addition to its Atlantic and Pacific coasts). The Gulf of Mexico took shape approximately 300 million years ago as

3161-705: The Harlingen WhiteWings . After three seasons, they changed the name back to the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings , announcing it as such in May 2009. In 2011 and 2012, the WhiteWings played in the North American League , where they made the playoffs twice. They returned to the ULB in 2013 and played two season, winning the championship in 2014, their final season. The team announced in 2015 that it

3270-650: The Mardi Gras sank around the early 19th century about 35 mi (56 km) off the coast of Louisiana in 4,000 feet (1,200 m) of water. She is believed to have been a privateer or trader. The shipwreck, whose real identity remains a mystery, lay forgotten at the bottom of the sea until it was discovered in 2002 by an oilfield inspection crew working for the Okeanos Gas Gathering Company (OGGC). In 2007 an expedition led by Texas A&M University and funded by OGGC under an agreement with

3379-567: The Mexican–American War . The area along the Rio Grande was the source of several major battles, including the Battle of Resaca de la Palma near Brownsville. The war ended in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which defined the United States' southern border as the Rio Grande. The change in government led to a mass migration from Tamaulipas to the United States side of

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3488-491: The Mexico–United States border . The residents of the Lower Rio Grande Valley are generally bilingual in English and Spanish often mixing into Spanglish depending on demographics and context. Government statistics for the region are often underreported due to underlying immigration issues. The Spanish language plays an important role in all aspects of life. In 1982 a statistically significant majority of people in

3597-557: The National Response Center , the oil industry has thousands of minor accidents in the Gulf of Mexico every year. In June 1979, the Ixtoc I oil platform in the Bay of Campeche suffered a blowout leading to a catastrophic explosion, which resulted in a massive oil spill that continued for nine months before the well was finally capped. This was the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to date. On April 20, 2010,

3706-529: The Old World ; they also had reason to expect that this new land would have gold . All of this encouraged two further expeditions, the first in 1518 under the command of Juan de Grijalva , and the second in 1519 under the command of Hernán Cortés , which led to the Spanish exploration, military invasion, and ultimately settlement and colonization known as the Conquest of Mexico . Hernández did not live to see

3815-1283: The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (soccer) One of the Valley's major tourist attractions is the semi-tropical wildlife. Birds and butterflies attract a large number of visitors every year all throughout the entire region. Ecotourism is a major economic force in the Rio Grande Valley. The Rio Grande Valley is served by three commercial airports: Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport in Brownsville, Texas, Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas, and McAllen Miller International Airport in McAllen, Texas. American Airlines and United Airlines provide service to all three airports, with Avelo Air also providing service to Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport, Allegiant Air also providing service to McAllen Miller International Airport, Southwest Airlines , Sun Country Airlines and Delta Air Lines also providing service to Valley International Airport. There are several bus lines that run through

3924-498: The St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railway in 1903 and the irrigation of the Rio Grande allowed the Rio Grande Valley to develop into profitable farmland. Droughts in the 1890s and early 1900s caused smaller farmers and cattle ranchers to lose their lands. Rich white settlers brought by the railroad bought the land and displaced the Tejano ranchers. Meanwhile, across the river, Mexico

4033-603: The Texas League not having plans for expansion. The Rio Grande Valley would receive a team as a charter member, which was called the WhiteWings and play at Harlingen Field , which had dimensions of 310' for the corners and 380' in center field for a crowd of 4,000. The WhiteWings won the Texas–Louisiana League Championship in 2000, upsetting the San Angelo Colts and Amarillo Dillas to win

4142-627: The Union Pacific Railroad . In Mexico, Kansas City Southern de México runs freight service and crosses from Matamoros into Brownsville over the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge . Sea trade runs through the deepwater seaport, the Port of Brownsville and the Foreign Trade Zone 62. SpaceX South Texas launch site is located near Brownsville. The region is represented by Ted Cruz and John Cornyn in

4251-669: The United States Senate and by Monica De La Cruz , Vicente Gonzalez , and Henry Cuellar in the United States House of Representatives . Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish : Golfo de México ) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean , mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by

4360-483: The euphotic zone . This attracts fish, shrimp, and squid. River drainage and atmospheric fallout from industrial coastal cities also provide nutrients to the coastal zone. The Gulf Stream , a warm Atlantic Ocean current and one of the strongest ocean currents known, originates in the gulf as a continuation of the Caribbean Current –Yucatán Current– Loop Current system. Other circulation features include

4469-591: The "mythologies of Indigenous ‘disappearance’ appear as ahistorical as they are problematic." Scholars like Blackhawk work to address the narrative of Native peoples as passively disappeared and of existing solely in the past by amplifying the intentional and strategic projects of dispossession and settler colonialism in their goals to erase, harm, and destabilize a group of people. Therefore, the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe's work to establish their presence and continually advocate for their way of living and place in

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4578-415: The Atlantic Ocean, the gulf experiences very small tidal ranges . The size of the gulf basin is approximately 1.6 million km (620,000 sq mi). Almost half of the basin consists of shallow continental shelf waters. The volume of water in the basin is roughly 2.4 × 10 cubic kilometers (5.8 × 10 cubic miles). The gulf is one of the most important offshore petroleum production regions in

4687-546: The French commandant. The Gulf of Mexico's eastern, northern, and northwestern shores lie along the US states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The US portion of the coastline spans 1,680 miles (2,700 km), receiving water from 33 major rivers that drain 31 states and 2 Canadian provinces. The southwestern and southern shores lie along the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and

4796-516: The Gulf of Mexico. Instead, the Spanish sailed into the Caribbean around Cuba and Hispaniola . The first alleged European exploration of the Gulf of Mexico was by Amerigo Vespucci in 1497. Vespucci is purported to have followed the coastal land mass of Central America before returning to the Atlantic Ocean via the Straits of Florida between Florida and Cuba. However, this first voyage of 1497

4905-535: The International Boundary and Water Commission has ordered We Build the Wall to stop until they can review whether or not the construction violates a Treaty to resolve pending boundary differences and maintain the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundary between the United States and Mexico signed in 1970. The Rio Grande Valley is not a true valley , but a river delta . "Valley"

5014-459: The Minerals Management Service (now BOEM ) was launched to undertake the deepest scientific archaeological excavation ever attempted at that time to study the site on the seafloor and recover artifacts for eventual public display in the Louisiana State Museum . As part of the project educational outreach Nautilus Productions in partnership with BOEM, Texas A&M University, the Florida Public Archaeology Network and Veolia Environmental produced

5123-677: The Northern Americas has been communally constructed on the Native Land webpage. The Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe is recognized on the Native Land webpage, represented across South Texas. The visibility and recognition of Native communities like the Carrizo/Comecrudo are paramount and require a constant fight by many Indigenous tribes worldwide, especially when histories of vulnerable groups like Indigenous communities are essentially contested and being attacked legally by state governments. As historian and scholar Ned Blackhawk outlines in "The Centrality of Dispossession: Native American Genocide and Settler Colonialism," in World History of Genocide: Volume II ,

5232-399: The Northward along this meridian to the latitude of the South point of the Dry Tortugas (24°35'N), along this parallel Eastward to Rebecca Shoal (82°35'W) thence through the shoals and Florida Keys to the mainland at the eastern end of Florida Bay and all the narrow waters between the Dry Tortugas and the mainland being considered to be within the Gulf. The consensus among geologists

5341-420: The Padre Island treasure. This loss, in combination with other ship disasters around the Gulf of Mexico, gave rise to a plan for establishing a settlement on the northern Gulf Coast to protect shipping and more quickly rescue castaways. As a result, the expedition of Tristán de Luna y Arellano was sent and landed at Pensacola Bay on August 15, 1559. On December 11, 1526, Charles V granted Pánfilo de Narváez

5450-441: The Rio Grande Valley have been home to historic Native groups, which today include the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe of Texas. While not recognized under the government, this tribe and other communities have existed on the lands predating European settlement and the acquisition of Texas from Mexico. The tribe speaks of their existence as a way of life. Today, a working map of Native and Indigenous nations and tribes across Turtle Island and

5559-440: The Rio Grande Valley is resilient and vital. The Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe of Texas has long fought with SpaceX over the environmental protection of their lands. Elon Musk established Starbase, one of the engineering hubs, in Boca Chica Beach, a coastal beach of the Rio Grande Valley. Alongside the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe of Texas, local RGV environmental organizations have opposed SpaceXs business and activities at Boca Chica, citing

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5668-416: The Rio Grande Valley spoke Spanish. People speak Spanish to communicate in all aspects of life including business, government, and at home. County County County County People often prefer Spanish to English when interacting with government officials as seen in the response to the region's 2018 flooding. The Catholic Church has been present in the Rio Grande Valley since the Spanish colonization of

5777-442: The Rio Grande Valley. The Lower Rio Grande Valley experiences a warm and fair climate that brings visitors from many surrounding areas. Temperature extremes range from triple digits during the summer months to freezing during the winter. While the Valley has seen severe cold events before, such as the 2004 Christmas snow storm and 2021 cold snap , the region rarely experiences temperatures at or below freezing, especially by

5886-477: The Spanish; he sailed from there to Mobile Bay and explored Massacre Island, later renamed Dauphin Island . He cast anchor between Cat Island and Ship Island ; and on February 13 he went to the mainland, Biloxi , with his brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville . On May 1 he completed Fort Maurepas on the northeast side of the Bay of Biloxi. On May 4 d'Iberville sailed for France leaving his teenage brother, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne , as second in command to

5995-447: The United States , but later moved to detaining illegal aliens. The region had a significant increase of Border Patrol agents during World War I in conjunction with the Zimmermann Telegram . The Texas Rangers also increased their presence as law enforcement in the region with a new class of Ranger that focused on determining Tejano loyalty. They were often violent, carrying out retaliatory murders. They were never held accountable to

6104-541: The United States is well developed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and connects Brownsville, Hidalgo, McAllen, Raymondville , Edinburg , Pharr , and Laredo . On the Mexican side, there are several major highways between Matamoros , Reynosa , and Nuevo Laredo . As of 2015 car travel on the Mexican side was considered dangerous and the Mexican Federal Police offered a police escort between Ciudad Victoria , Matamoros, and Reynosa. Freight trains run between Harlingen , Mission , Edinburg, and Santa Rosa connecting to

6213-415: The United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, of December 16, 1977. Mexico and United States: Treaty to resolve pending boundary differences and maintain the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundary, of November 23, 1970; Treaty on maritime boundaries between the United States of America and the United Mexican States (Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean), of May 4, 1978, and treaty on

6322-546: The United States side of the Lower Rio Grande Valley including Metro Connect ( McAllen ), McAllen Paratransit, McAllen Metro Services, Brownsville Metro/ADA Paratransit Service Island Metro ( South Padre Island ), and Greyhound Lines . On the Mexican side of the border there are several bus companies that run including Greyhound, Tornado, Ave Senda Ejecutiva, Enlaces Terrestres Nacionales, Futua, Noreste, Omnibus de Oriente, Transpais, Transportes del Norte, Transportes Frontera, and Turistar Lujo. The Interstate Highway System in

6431-496: The United States, in accordance with Mexico's domestic legislation. On March 13, 2009, the CLCS accepted Mexico's arguments for extending its continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles (650 km; 400 mi) into the Western Polygon. Since this would extend Mexico's continental shelf well into territory claimed by the United States, however, Mexico and the U.S. would need to enter a bilateral agreement based on international law that delimits their respective claims. A ship now called

6540-539: The Valley citrus crop, which also includes orange , tangerine , tangelo and Meyer lemon production each Winter. One minor professional sports team plays in the Rio Grande Valley: The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (basketball). Defunct teams that previously played in the region include: the Edinburg Roadrunners (baseball), La Fiera FC (indoor soccer), Rio Grande Valley Ocelots FC (soccer), Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings (baseball), Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (ice hockey), Rio Grande Valley Sol (indoor football) and

6649-414: The Valley usually experiences the catastrophic effects of tropical cyclones in the form of flooding. The Lower Rio Grande Valley encompasses landmarks that attract tourists. Popular destinations include Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge , Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge , Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park , South Padre Island , Brazos Island , and the Port Isabel Lighthouse . The Valley

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6758-434: The area before the Spanish conquest. The native tribes in South Texas were known to be hunter-gatherer peoples. The area was known for its smaller nomadic tribes collectively called Coahuiltecan . Native archaeological excavations near Brownsville have shown evidence of prehistoric shell trading. Initially, the Spanish had a hard time conquering the area due to the differences in native languages, so they mainly focused on

6867-717: The attack. One officer, nine crewmen and 15 passengers were lost. The passengers aboard Robert E. Lee were primarily survivors of previous torpedo attacks by German U-boats. The wreck's location was discovered during the C & C Marine survey that located the U-166 . In 2001 the wreck of U-166 was found in 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of water, less than two miles (3.2 km) from where it had attacked Robert E. Lee . Various biota include chemosynthetic communities near cold seeps and non chemosynthetic communities such as bacteria and other micro- benthos , meiofauna , macrofauna , and megafauna (larger organisms such as crabs , sea pens , crinoids , demersal fish , cetaceans , and

6976-402: The basin expanded and deepened. Later, loading of the crust within the basin and adjacent coastal plain by the accumulation of kilometers of sediments during the rest of the Mesozoic and all of the Cenozoic further depressed the underlying crust to its current position about 10–20 km (6.2–12.4 mi) below sea level. Particularly during the Cenozoic, a time of relative stability for

7085-421: The basin experienced a period of cooling and subsidence of the crust underlying it. The subsidence was the result of a combination of crustal stretching, cooling, and loading. Initially, the combination of crustal stretching and cooling caused about 5–7 km (3.1–4.3 mi) of tectonic subsidence of the central thin transitional and oceanic crust. Because subsidence occurred faster than sediment could fill it,

7194-415: The border Matamoros , Río Bravo , and Reynosa are major cities in this region. As of 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of the Rio Grande Valley at 1,368,723. Hidalgo County has the largest population with an estimate of 861,137. Cameron County has the second-highest population estimated at 422,135. Starr County has the third-largest population estimated at 64,032. Willacy County has

7303-433: The coast of the Gulf of Mexico also known as the Seno Mexicano . Also, a major conflict existed on who would conquer the region. Antonio Ladrón de Guevara wanted to colonize the region, but the Viceroy of New Spain José Tienda de Cuervo doubted Ladrón de Guevara's character, eventually leading to a royal Spanish declaration preventing Ladrón de Guevara from participating in colonization efforts. The first villas in

7412-421: The coast, most notably at the Florida and Yucatán Peninsulas. The shelf is exploited for its oil by means of offshore drilling rigs, most of which are situated in the western gulf and in the Bay of Campeche. Another important commercial activity is fishing; major catches include red snapper , amberjack , tilefish , swordfish , and various grouper , as well as shrimp and crabs. Oysters are also harvested on

7521-556: The coast, which transitions into a Tropical climate. The region's proximity to the Gulf of Mexico makes it a target for hurricanes . Though not impacted as frequently as other areas of the Gulf Coast of the United States, the Valley has experienced major hurricanes in the past. Hurricanes that have made landfall in or near the area include Hurricane Beulah (1967) , Hurricane Allen (1980) , Hurricane Gilbert , Hurricane Bret , Hurricane Dolly (2008) , Hurricane Alex (2010) , and Hurricane Hanna (2020) . Having an especially flat terrain,

7630-432: The coastal zones, thick clastic wedges built out the continental shelf along the northwestern and northern margins of the basin. To the east, the stable Florida Platform was not covered by the sea until the latest Jurassic or the beginning of Cretaceous time. The Yucatán Platform was emergent until the mid-Cretaceous. After both platforms were submerged, the formation of carbonates and evaporites has characterized

7739-418: The continuation of his work: he died in 1517, the year of his expedition, as the result of the injuries and the extreme thirst suffered during the voyage, and disappointed in the knowledge that Diego Velázquez had given precedence to Grijalva as the captain of the next expedition to Yucatán. In 1523, a treasure ship was wrecked en route at Padre Island , Texas. When word of the disaster reached Mexico City,

7848-727: The delimitation of the continental shelf in the western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi), of June 9, 2000. On December 13, 2007, Mexico submitted information to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) regarding the extension of Mexico's continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. Mexico sought an extension of its continental shelf in the Western Polygon based on international law, UNCLOS, and bilateral treaties with

7957-401: The depths and making it less likely that further hurricanes will follow in its wake (warm water being one of the preconditions necessary for their formation). However, the gulf is shallower; when a hurricane passes over the water temperature may drop but it soon rebounds and becomes capable of supporting another tropical storm. From 1970 to 2020, surface temperatures warmed at approximately twice

8066-472: The explosion destroyed the #3 hold, vented through the B and C decks and damaged the engines, the radio compartment and the steering gear. After the attack she was under escort by USS PC-566 , captained by Lieutenant Commander Herbert G. Claudius, en route to New Orleans . PC-566 began dropping depth charges on a sonar contact, sinking U-166 . The badly damaged Robert E. Lee first listed to port then to starboard and finally sank within about 15 minutes of

8175-542: The extinct Caribbean monk seal ) are living in the Gulf of Mexico. Recently, resident Bryde's whales within the gulf were classified as an endemic, unique subspecies and making them as one of the most endangered whales in the world. The Gulf of Mexico yields more fish, shrimp, and shellfish annually than the south and mid-Atlantic , Chesapeake , and New England areas combined. The Smithsonian Institution Gulf of Mexico holdings are expected to provide an important baseline of understanding for future scientific studies on

8284-589: The fourth-largest population estimated at 21,419. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008, 86 percent of Cameron County, 90 percent of Hidalgo County, 97 percent of Starr County, and 86 percent of Willacy County are Hispanic . The major metropolitan areas in the Rio Grande Valley are surrounded by smaller rural communities called colonias. These communities are primarily poor and Hispanic. The areas often lack basic services like sanitation and sewage, and suffer from flooding. Many of these colonias are mixes of mobile homes and self-constructed houses owned by

8393-552: The geologic history of these two stable areas. Most of the basin was rimmed during the early Cretaceous by carbonate platforms, and its western flank was involved during the latest Cretaceous and early Paleogene periods in a compressive deformation episode, the Laramide Orogeny , which created the Sierra Madre Oriental of eastern Mexico. In 2014, Erik Cordes of Temple University and others discovered

8502-583: The governor of Hispaniola, in his expedition to conquer Cuba. In 1518 Velázquez put him in command of an expedition to explore and secure the interior of Mexico for colonization. In 1517 Francisco Hernández de Córdoba discovered the Yucatán Peninsula. This was the first European encounter with an advanced civilization in the Americas , with solidly built buildings and a complex social organization which they recognized as being comparable to those of

8611-639: The greatest depth of 12,467 feet in the Sigsbee Deep . Seven main areas are given as: As early as the Maya civilization , the Gulf of Mexico was used as a trade route off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula and present-day Veracruz . Although the Spanish voyage of Christopher Columbus was credited with the discovery of the Americas by Europeans, the ships in his four voyages did not reach

8720-499: The gulf's first such study estimated concentrations that rival the highest globally reported. There are frequent " red tide " algae blooms that kill fish and marine mammals and cause respiratory problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to shore. This has especially been plaguing the southwest and southern Florida coast, from the Florida Keys to north of Pasco County, Florida . The gulf contains

8829-523: The gulf. These have generally not been checked for potential environmental problems. In 1973 the United States Environmental Protection Agency prohibited the dumping of undiluted chemical waste by manufacturing interests into the gulf, and the military confessed to similar behavior in waters off Horn Island . Microplastics within semi-enclosed seas like the gulf have been reported in high concentrations, and

8938-630: The headquarters of SpaceX to the Starbase site in Boca Chica Beach. The Valley is historically reliant on agribusiness and tourism . Cotton , grapefruit , sorghum , maize , and sugarcane are its leading crops, and the region is the center of citrus production and the most important area of vegetable production in the State of Texas. Over the last several decades, the emergence of maquiladoras (factories or fabrication plants) has caused

9047-486: The impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill . In Congressional testimony, Dr. Jonathan Coddington, associate director of Research and Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History , provides a detailed overview of the Gulf collections and their sources which Museum staff have made available on an online map. The samples were collected for years by the former Minerals Management Service (renamed

9156-478: The late Jurassic, continued rifting widened the basin and progressed to the point that seafloor spreading and formation of oceanic crust occurred. At this point, sufficient circulation with the Atlantic Ocean was established that the deposition of Louann Salt ceased. Seafloor spreading stopped at the end of the Jurassic, about 145–150 million years ago. During the late Jurassic through early Cretaceous,

9265-568: The law even though charges were brought in the Texas senate. There were two major military training facilities in the Valley in Brownsville and Harlingen during World War II . The North American Free Trade Agreement , also known as NAFTA, was established in 1994 as a trade agreement between the three North American countries, The United States, Mexico, and Canada. NAFTA was supposed to increase trade with Mexico as they lowered or eliminated tariffs on Mexican goods. Exports and imports tripled in

9374-534: The north end of the Rio Grande Valley. This allows for a second line of defense in the ever increasing subtlety of smuggling. More recently the organization We Build the Wall has begun construction on a section of the border wall in the Valley. Local residents have expressed concerns about the project including the site's proximity to the National Butterfly Center and the Rio Grande with its potential for seasonal flooding. The U.S. Section of

9483-458: The northern gulf, and the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers in the southern gulf. The land that forms the gulf's coast, including many long, narrow barrier islands, is almost uniformly low-lying and is characterized by marshes and swamps as well as stretches of sandy beach. The Gulf of Mexico is an excellent example of a passive margin . The continental shelf is quite wide at most points along

9592-416: The northernmost tip of Quintana Roo. The Mexican coastline spans 1,743 miles (2,805 km). On its southeast quadrant, the gulf is bordered by Cuba. It supports major American, Mexican and Cuban fishing industries. The outer margins of the wide continental shelves of Yucatán and Florida receive cooler, nutrient-enriched waters from the deep by a process known as upwelling , which stimulates plankton growth in

9701-462: The oil. Cleanup operations were resumed after conditions became favorable. On May 27 the USGS had revised the estimate of the leak from 5,000 barrels per day (790 m /d) to 12,000–19,000 barrels per day (3,000 m /d) an increase from earlier estimates. On July 15 BP announced that the leak had stopped for the first time in 88 days. In July BP reached an $ 18.7bn settlement with the U.S. government,

9810-667: The past three decades in the region. According to the September 11, 2006 issue of The Tampa Tribune , earthquake tremors were last felt in Florida in 1952, recorded in Quincy , 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Tallahassee . Cuba and Mexico: Exchange of notes constituting an agreement on the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone of Mexico in the sector adjacent to Cuban maritime areas (with map), of July 26, 1976. Cuba and United States: Maritime boundary agreement between

9919-542: The peace between Mexicans and Americans. The region played host to several well-known conflicts including the backlash from the Plan of San Diego , and the racially fueled violence of Texas Ranger Harry Ransom. In 1921 the United States Border Patrol came to the region with less than 10 officers. Initially the agency was focused on import and export business, especially alcohol during Prohibition in

10028-510: The pennant under manager Eddie Dennis (two years later, the league rebranded as the Central Baseball League). After falling on hard times, the WhiteWings suspended operations in 2003. In late 2005 , United League Baseball announced that the WhiteWings would resume play as the first charter member of the new league in 2006 . They played the 2006 and 2007 seasons before deciding to rebrand in 2008. That year, they rebranded as

10137-474: The rate observed for the global ocean surface. The gulf is considered aseismic ; however, mild tremors have been recorded throughout history (usually 5.0 or less on the Richter magnitude scale ). Earthquakes may be caused by interactions between sediment loading on the sea floor and adjustment by the crust. On September 10, 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center reported that

10246-609: The region and accounted for a trade surplus of $ 75 billion. The Rio Grande Valley benefited from NAFTA in retail, manufacturing, and transportation. Due to the influx of jobs and exportation, many people migrated to the RGV, both documented and undocumented. According to Akinloye Akindayomi in Drug violence in Mexico and its impact on the fiscal realities of border cities in Texas: evidence from Rio Grande Valley counties , NAFTA also indirectly aids

10355-597: The region were settled in Laredo and Reynosa in 1767. In 1805, the Spanish government solidified the autonomy of the region by defining the territory of Nuevo Santander as south of the colony of Tejas from the Nueces River south to Tampico , Charcas , and Valles. The local government of the region had a rough start with various indigenous wars up until 1812. In 1821 after the Mexican War of Independence ,

10464-532: The region. In San Juan, Texas the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle is a major Catholic shrine. One of the offshoots of the Catholic Church, worship of Santa Muerte , has a small but significant following in the valley. There has been public outcry against followers erecting shrines at their homes and in public places. In 2015, a Santa Muerte statue was involved with

10573-604: The residents. The Bracero program enacted in the 1940s allowed Mexicans to cross the border and work in the agricultural fields. Most worked in the Rio Grande Valley, and due to a shortage of affordable houses, developers started selling them land in unincorporated areas; these clusters of homes over time became what are now known as colonias. According to the Housing Assistance Council, a nonprofit organization that tracks rural housing, approximately 1.6 million people live in 1,500 recognized colonias alongside

10682-613: The rise in immigration and drug smuggling practices between cartels in the region, with cartels profiting with over $ 80 billion. The Trump Administration decided to make new accords with Mexico and Canada and replaced NAFTA with the new trade agreement, United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2018. After the September 11 attacks , the Customs Border Security Act of 2001 established United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints with some situated at

10791-512: The river. From the end of the Mexican-American War, the population of the Valley began to grow, and farmers began to raise cattle in the area. Despite the end of the formal war in 1848, interracial strife continued between native peoples and the white settlers over land through the 1920s. At the turn of the 20th century trade and immigration between Mexico and the United States was a normal part of society. The development of

10900-463: The state was renamed Tamaulipas . The Texas Revolution of 1835-1836 put the majority of what is now called the Rio Grande Valley under contested Texan sovereignty. The area also became a thoroughfare for runaway slaves fleeing to Mexico. In 1844, the United States under President James K. Polk annexed the Republic of Texas, against British and Mexican sentiments, contributing to the onset of

11009-409: The states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, as well as 400 local authorities. As of 2015 BP's cost for the clean-up, environmental and economic damages and penalties has reached $ 54bn. On May 12, 2016, a release of oil from subsea infrastructure on Shell's Brutus oil rig released 2,100 barrels of oil. This leak created a visible 2 by 13 miles (3.2 by 20.9 km) oil slick in

11118-553: The tribe's claims to land and destruction to the local terrain and natural life. On August 5, 2024, a group of local organizations including the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe wrote a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration raising concerns about SpaceX operations in Boca Chica Beach and requesting a meeting to discuss the FAA's process of incorporating community voice into the conversation. The group includes

11227-490: The viceroy requested a rescue fleet and sent Ángel de Villafañe from Mexico City, marching overland to find the treasure-laden vessels. Villafañe traveled to Pánuco and hired a ship to transport him to the site, which had already been visited from that community. He arrived in time to greet García de Escalante Alvarado (a nephew of Pedro de Alvarado ), commander of the salvage operation, when Alvarado arrived by sea on July 22, 1554. The team labored until September 12 to salvage

11336-430: The warm weather, access to pharmaceuticals and healthcare in Mexican border crossings such as Nuevo Progreso . There is a substantial health-care industry with major hospitals and many clinics and private practices in Brownsville , Harlingen , and McAllen . Texas is the third largest producer of citrus fruit in the United States, the majority of which is grown in the Rio Grande Valley. Grapefruit make up over 70% of

11445-516: The world, making up one-sixth of the United States' total production. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the southeast limit of the Gulf of Mexico as: A line joining Cape Catoche Light ( 21°37′N 87°04′W  /  21.617°N 87.067°W  / 21.617; -87.067 ) with the Light on Cape San Antonio in Cuba, through this island to the meridian of 83°W and to

11554-434: Was a late Triassic–early Jurassic phase of rifting during which rift valleys formed and filled with continental red beds . Second, as rifting progressed through early and middle Jurassic times, the continental crust was stretched and thinned. This thinning created a broad zone of transitional crust, which displays modest and uneven thinning with block faulting and a broad zone of uniformly thinned transitional crust, which

11663-462: Was claimed by BP that approximately 1,000 barrels (160 m ) of oil per day were issuing from the wellhead , about 1-mile (1.6 km) below the surface on the ocean floor. On April 29, the U.S. government revealed that approximately 5,000 barrels (790 m ) per day, five times the original estimate, were pouring into the gulf from the wellhead. The resulting oil slick quickly expanded to cover hundreds of square miles of ocean surface, posing

11772-604: Was dealing with the Mexican Revolution . The revolution spilled over the border through cross-border supply raids, and in response President Taft sent the United States Army into the region beginning in 1911 and continuing until 1916 when the majority of the United States armed forces were stationed in the region. Texas governor Oscar Colquitt also sent the Texas Rangers into the area to keep

11881-489: Was shutting down and would not a field a team for the upcoming season. 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 N/A 2006 2007 2008 Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( Spanish : Valle del Río Grande ), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV , is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in

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