Teyas were a Native American people living near what is now Lubbock, Texas , who first made contact with Europeans during the 1541 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado expedition. The tribal affiliation and language of the Teyas is unknown, although many scholars believe they spoke a Caddoan language and were related to the Wichita tribe , encountered by Coronado in Quivira .
122-726: Teyas was the name the Rio Grande Pueblo Indians called them. The term Teyas is not to be confused with the Tejas people , another term for the Hasinai , a Caddo band. Scholars differ in their guesses as to the identity of the Teyas and their language. Some anthropologists and historians speculate that they were Apache . Other scholars believe they were related to the Rio Grande Pueblos , perhaps speaking
244-659: A Tanoan language. They may have later become known to the Spanish as the Jumano . It is possible, however, that Jumano was only a generic description of Plains Indians rather than referring to a distinct tribe. The Teyas had close trade relations with the Pueblos, but Coronado was told that, in the 1520s, they destroyed several Pueblo villages in the Galisteo Basin near present-day Santa Fe, New Mexico . That implies that
366-492: A Castillian lady except that she had her chin painted like a Moorish woman." Coronado commented that they "tattoo their bodies and faces, and are large people of very fine appearance." One of the intriguing events was Coronado's meeting among the Teyas an old blind bearded man—a beard being a rarity among Indians—who said that he had met four Spaniards far to the south. He was probably talking about Cabeza de Vaca who with three shipmates made his way across southern Texas nearly
488-661: A channel was dug for flood control which moved the river, creating what was called Cordova Island, which became the center of the Chamizal dispute . Resolving the dispute took many years and resulted in a 1909 combined assassination attempt on the American and Mexican presidents. Following the approval of the Rio Grande Project by federal lawmakers in 1905, the waters of the Rio Grande were to be divided between
610-595: A decade before Coronado. The Teyas, or at least their name, disappeared from history soon after Coronado encountered them. They may have been pushed out of their west Texas home by advancing Apaches. They likely merged into the Lipan Apache , who in turn merged into the Mescalero Apache in New Mexico today. If the Spanish met Teya descendants later at a different location, they were not recognized as
732-671: A four-year position as Adelantado in Rio de la Plata , Cabeza de Vaca wrote from memory a chronicle of his in South America. It is believed that his secretary at the time, Pero Hernández, transcribed Cabeza de Vaca's account in what is known as Comentarios . The publication of Comentarios was appended to La relación as a joint publication in Valladolid, Spain entitled: Naufragios. At that time, explorers often published their reports of travels in foreign lands. In 1906, Naufragios
854-516: A group of 200 Indians. The encounter quickly turned into a fight and the Indians were driven off. Nearby, the Spaniards found a village where they stayed for several days and helped themselves to the stored maize. Cabeza de Vaca pleaded with Narváez to send a scouting expedition downriver in hopes of finding a bay where their ships might be waiting. Narváez relented and ordered Cabeza de Vaca to lead
976-409: A large swing bridge , dates back to 1910 and is still in use today by automobiles connecting Brownsville with Matamoros, Tamaulipas . The swing mechanism has not been used since the early 1900s, though, when the last of the big steamboats disappeared. At one point, the bridge also had rail traffic. Railroad trains no longer use this bridge. A new rail bridge (West Rail International Crossing) connecting
1098-547: A playa in the southern Albuquerque Basin where it deposited the Popotosa Formation . The upper reach of this river corresponded to the modern Rio Chama , but by 5 million years ago, an ancestral Rio Grande draining the eastern San Juan Mountains had joined the ancestral Rio Chama. The ancestral Rio Grande progressively integrated basins to the south, reaching the Mesilla Basin by 4.5 million years and
1220-418: A reconnaissance. After two attempts to find their way through the swamps and heavy forest, their search yielded no ships or suitable harbor. Narváez still hoped to find riches at Apalachee, so the expedition pressed forward using captive Indians as guides. Seven weeks after leaving their ships, they came upon the largest village they had found so far, a collection of forty houses. Their guides assured them this
1342-595: A royal Spanish cartographer. In the autumn of 1540, a military expedition of the Viceroyalty of New Spain led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado , Governor of Nueva Galicia , reached the Tiwa pueblos along the Rio Grande in the future New Mexico . On July 12, 1598, Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar established the New Spain colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico at the new village of San Juan de los Caballeros adjacent to
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#17327755312591464-664: A single river system draining into the Gulf of Mexico until relatively recent geologic time. Instead, the basins formed by the opening of the Rio Grande rift were initially bolsons , with no external drainage and a central playa . An axial river existed in the Espanola Basin as early as 13 million years ago, reaching the Santo Domingo Basin by 6.9 million years ago. However, at this time, the river drained into
1586-405: A slaving expedition of about 20 horsemen, and attempted to negotiate peace between them and the natives. However, as soon as they departed, Alcaraz went back on his word and plundered Cabeza de Vaca's entourage of natives that he had sent back home. Not long afterward, Cabeza de Vaca encountered the chief alcalde (Spanish captain of the province), Melchor Díaz. Díaz ordered Cabeza de Vaca to bring
1708-420: A small, sandy delta at the Gulf of Mexico. During portions of 2001 and 2002, the mouth of the Rio Grande was blocked by a sandbar. In the fall of 2003, the sandbar was cleared by high river flows around 7,063 cubic feet per second (200 m /s). The Rio Grande flows through a valley with diverse animal and plants communities. Conservation of the river and the valley is a recurring theme for people who live in
1830-408: A suitable harbor and await their return. Cabeza de Vaca protested that dividing their forces would put both groups in danger without any certainty that they would be able to find each other again. He advised that everyone remain with the ships until a suitable harbor could be found to serve as their base camp. Narváez ignored his advice and suggested that if Cabeza de Vaca was afraid, he should stay with
1952-558: A village known as Aute, about 5 or 9 days away, was rich. They pushed on through the swamps, harassed by the Native Americans. A few Spanish men were killed and more wounded. When they arrived in Aute, they found that the inhabitants had burned down the village and left. But the fields had not been harvested, so at least the Spanish scavenged food there. After several months of fighting native inhabitants through wilderness and swamp,
2074-533: A year later, in October 2022, the reservoir had made only insignificant rebounds, resting at 6.4% of capacity. In late July 2022, due to extreme drought, the Rio Grande ran dry for about 50 miles in the middle Rio Grande Valley , including five miles in Albuquerque, the first time it had done so in over 40 years. The following winter, the basin experienced above-average snowfall, leading to very high flows in
2196-524: Is better in flanking basins of the Rio Grande Valley, where numerous Folsom sites and a much smaller number of earlier Clovis sites have been identified. Later Paleo-Indian groups included the Belen and Cody cultures, who appear to have taken advantage of the Rio Grande Valley for seasonal migrations and may have settled more permanently in the valley. The Paleo-Indian cultures gave way to
2318-548: Is not part of the Water Authority's long-term resource management plan, dubbed WATER 2120. Dams on the Rio Grande include Rio Grande Dam , Cochiti Dam , Elephant Butte Dam , Caballo Dam , Amistad Dam , Falcon Dam , Anzalduas Dam , and Retamal Dam . In southern New Mexico and the upper portion of the Texas border segment, the river's discharge dwindles. Diversions, mainly for agricultural irrigation, have increased
2440-514: Is now the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the northeastern Mexican states of Tamaulipas , Nuevo León and Coahuila , and possibly smaller portions of New Mexico and Arizona. He traveled on foot through areas near the Gulf Coast, but encountered no other Europeans. Turning inland because of the threat of hostile Indians, he and his companions continued through Coahuila and Nueva Vizcaya (present-day states of Chihuahua and Durango ); then down
2562-728: Is the account of his experiences with the Narváez expedition and after being wrecked on Galveston Island in November 1528. Cabeza de Vaca and his last three men struggled to survive. They wandered along the Texas coast as prisoners of the Han and Capoque American Indians for two years, while Cabeza de Vaca observed the people, picking up their ways of life and customs. They traveled through the American Southwest and ultimately reached Mexico City, nearly eight years after being wrecked on
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#17327755312592684-529: Is the first known written description of the American Southwest. Laila Lalami 's novel, The Moor's Account (2014), is a fictional memoir of Estevanico , the Moroccan slave who survived the journey and accompanied Cabeza de Vaca through the Southwest. He is considered to be the first black explorer of North America. Lord Buckley created a monologue The Gasser based on Haniel Long 's novella. This
2806-625: Is unavailable for storage, reducing system capacity by about 180,000 acre-feet. MRGCD has requested storage of "native water" downstream at Abiquiu Reservoir , which normally only stores waters imported into the Rio Grande watershed from the Colorado River watershed via the San Juan–Chama Project . Elephant Butte Reservoir , the main storage reservoir on the Rio Grande, was reported at 13.1% of capacity as of May 1, 2022, further decreasing to only 5.9% full by November 2021. Nearly
2928-705: The Archaic Oshara tradition beginning around 5450 BCE. The Oshara began cultivation of maize between 1750 and 750 BCE, and their settlements became larger and more permanent. Drought induced the collapse of the Ancestral Puebloan culture, at Chaco Canyon and elsewhere across the Four Corners region, at around 1130 CE. This led to a mass migration of the Ancestral Puebloans to the Rio Grande and other more fertile valleys of
3050-727: The Battle of Ravenna where the Spanish were badly defeated and Cabeza de Vaca was wounded. He later served as the royal standard-bearer in Gaeta , near Naples. In 1513 he returned to Spain, still in the service of Medina Sidonia. At some point he married María Marmolejo, member of a prominent converso family in Seville. When the Revolt of the Comuneros broke out in 1520 against the new Spanish king, Charles V , Cabeza de Vaca fought alongside
3172-572: The Bay of Jagua under the command of Cabeza de Vaca. While Cabeza de Vaca watched over the ships and crew, Narváez remained on shore to find replacements for the lost ships and hire more men. In February 1528, he returned to the Bay of Jagua with one additional ship and another one waiting for them in Havana. They resumed their expedition to La Florida with the intention of first stopping in Havana to pick up
3294-527: The Brazos River the likely place where Coronado first encountered a large settlement of Teyas. The Teyas were described as nomadic buffalo hunters who lived in tents. However, they had additional resources. The canyons had trees and flowing streams and the Teyas grew or foraged for beans, but the Coronado chroniclers state they did not "sow corn, nor eat bread, but instead raw meat." The Spanish noted
3416-881: The Colorado River basin via the San Juan-Chama Diversion Project and from the Rio Chama . The Rio Grande then continues southwards, irrigating the farmlands in the Middle Rio Grande Valley through the desert cities of Albuquerque and Las Cruces in New Mexico, to El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua , in Mexico. In the Albuquerque metropolitan area , the Rio Grande flows by historic Pueblo villages, such as Sandia Pueblo and Isleta Pueblo . South of El Paso,
3538-704: The Colorado River ) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico . The length of the Rio Grande is 1,896 miles (3,051 km), making it the 4th longest river in the United States and in North America by main stem. It originates in south-central Colorado , in the United States, and flows to the Gulf of Mexico . The Rio Grande drainage basin (watershed) has an area of 182,200 square miles (472,000 km ); however,
3660-579: The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), US–Mexico. The most notable of these treaties were signed in 1906 and 1944. The IBWC traces its institutional roots to 1889, when the International Boundary Committee was established to maintain the border. The IBWC today also allocates river waters between the two nations and provides for flood control and water sanitation. Use of that water belonging to
3782-642: The Ohio and Mississippi Rivers were requisitioned by the U.S. government and moved to the Rio Grande during the Mexican–American War in 1846. They provided transport for the U.S. Army, under General Zachary Taylor , to invade Monterrey , Nuevo León , via Camargo Municipality, Tamaulipas . Army engineers recommended that with small improvements, the river could easily be made navigable as far north as El Paso. Those recommendations were never acted upon. The Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge ,
Teya people - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-595: The Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo at the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Río Chama . During the late 1830s and early 1840s, the river marked the disputed border between Mexico and the nascent Republic of Texas ; Mexico marked the border at the Nueces River . The disagreement provided part of the rationale for the Mexican–American War in 1846, after Texas had been admitted as a new state. Since 1848,
4026-643: The Pecos River and Devils River , both entering the Rio Grande from the north in the vicinity of Amistad Reservoir in Texas, and the Rio Salado and Rio San Juan both entering from the south with confluences in Tamaulipas , Mexico. The Rio Grande rises in high mountains and flows for much of its length at high elevation; the valley floor at Albuquerque is 5,312 feet (1,619 m), and El Paso 3,762 feet (1,147 m) above sea level . In New Mexico,
4148-655: The Pueblo and Navajo peoples also have had names for the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo: The four Pueblo names likely antedated the Spanish entrada by several centuries. Rio del Norte was most commonly used for the upper Rio Grande (roughly, within the present-day borders of New Mexico) from Spanish colonial times to the end of the Mexican period in the mid-19th century. This use was first documented by
4270-579: The Querechos and the Teyas. The Querechos were nomadic buffalo hunters, almost certainly Apaches , and they inhabited the Llano Estacado . The Teyas lived in the canyons below the escarpment on the eastern edge of the Llano. The Querechos and Teyas were enemies. The discovery of Spanish artifacts from an archaeological site 35 miles northeast of Lubbock makes Blanco Canyon near the headwaters of
4392-773: The Rio Grande Gorge , and fully reintegrated the San Luis Basin into the Rio Grande watershed. Archeological sites from the earliest human presence in the Rio Grande Valley are scarce, due to traditional Indigenous nomadic culture, Pleistocene and Holocene river incision or burial under the Holocene floodplain. However, some early sites are preserved on West Mesa on the west side of the Rio Grande near Albuquerque. These include Folsom sites, possibly dating from around 10,800 to 9,700 BCE, that were probably short-term sites such as buffalo kill sites. Preservation
4514-477: The US Navy . It was a shallow-draft river port, with several smaller vessels that hauled cargo to and from the deeper-draft cargo ships anchored off shore. These deeper-draft ships could not cross the shallow sandbar at the mouth of the river. The port's commerce was European military supplies, in exchange for bales of cotton. The sedimentary basins forming the modern Rio Grande Valley were not integrated into
4636-515: The conquest of Grand Canaria , one of the major islands of the Canaries. He was appointed military governor of the island and used his position to capture Canary natives ( Guanches ) and sell them as slaves in Spain. When natives on the neighboring island of Gomera revolted, he brutally put down the rebellion, killing males over the age of fifteen and selling the women and children into slavery. He
4758-411: The endorheic basins that are adjacent to and within the greater drainage basin of the Rio Grande increase the total drainage-basin area to 336,000 square miles (870,000 km ). The Rio Grande with its fertile valley , along with its tributaries, is a vital water source for seven US and Mexican states, and flows primarily through arid and semi-arid lands. After traversing the length of New Mexico ,
4880-408: The indigenous peoples . He became a trader and a healer, which gave him some freedom to travel among the tribes. His group attracted numerous native followers, who regarded them as "children of the sun", endowed with the power to heal and destroy. As Cabeza de Vaca grew healthier, he decided that he would make his way to Pánuco, supporting himself through trading. He finally decided to try to reach
5002-441: The southwestern willow flycatcher . The water of the Rio Grande is over-appropriated: that is, more users for the water exist than water in the river. Because of both drought and overuse, the section from Las Cruces downstream through Ojinaga frequently runs dry and was recently tagged "The Forgotten River" by those wishing to bring attention to the river's deteriorated condition. In 2022, due to increasing drought and water use,
Teya people - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-468: The 1527 Narváez expedition . During eight years of traveling across what is now the US Southwest, he became a trader and faith healer to various Native American tribes before reconnecting with Spanish civilization in Mexico in 1536. After returning to Spain in 1537, he wrote an account, first published in 1542 as La relación y comentarios ("The Account and Commentaries" ), which in later editions
5246-558: The 1890s, the Rio Grande flowed through Las Cruces from February to October each year, but this is subject to climate change. In 2020, the river flowed only from March to September. As of January 2021, the Elephant Butte Irrigation District (Ebid) expected that water shortages would mean the river only flows through Las Cruces from June through July. The water shortages are affecting the local ecosystem and endangering species including cottonwood trees and
5368-595: The 242 survivors. Cabeza de Vaca commanded one of the vessels, each of which held approximately 50 men. Depleted of food and water, they followed the coast westward. But when they reached the mouth of the Mississippi River , the powerful current swept them out into the Gulf, where the five rafts were separated by a hurricane. Some lives were lost, including that of Narváez. In November 1528, two crafts with about 40 survivors each, including Cabeza de Vaca, wrecked on or near Galveston Island (now part of Texas). Of
5490-519: The 80 or so survivors, only 15 lived past that winter. The explorers called the island Malhado (“Ill fate” in Spanish), or the Island of Doom. They tried to repair the rafts, using what remained of their own clothes as oakum to plug holes, but they lost the rafts to a large wave. As the number of survivors dwindled rapidly, they were enslaved for four years by various American Indian nomadic tribes of
5612-774: The Brownsville and Matamoros Bridge Company, a joint venture between the Mexican government and the Union Pacific Railroad . At the mouth of the Rio Grande, on the Mexican side, was the large commercial port of Bagdad, Tamaulipas . During the American Civil War , this was the only legitimate port of the Confederacy. European warships anchored offshore to maintain the port's neutrality, and managed to do so successfully throughout that conflict, despite occasional stare-downs with blockading ships from
5734-467: The Gulf of California coast to what is now Sinaloa , Mexico, over a period of roughly eight years. Throughout those years, Cabeza de Vaca and the other men adapted to the lives of the indigenous people they stayed with, whom he later described as Roots People, the Fish and Blackberry People, or the Fig People, depending on their principal foods. During his wanderings, passing from tribe to tribe, Cabeza de Vaca later reported that he developed sympathies for
5856-404: The Indians assured him it could be found in great quantities at Apalachee. As a result, Narváez was determined to lead a force north into the interior to find this rich country. Despite strong objections from Cabeza de Vaca, Narváez decided to split his expedition. He would lead some 300 men and 42 horses overland to Apalachee while the remaining crew, including the women, would sail ahead to find
5978-414: The Natives; they wanted to use them for labor. Because he lost elite support, and Buenos Aires was failing as a settlement, not attracting enough residents, Martínez de Irala arrested Cabeza de Vaca in 1544 for poor administration. The former explorer was returned to Spain in 1545 for trial. Although he was eventually exonerated, Cabeza de Vaca never returned to South America. He wrote an extensive report on
6100-436: The Palomas basin by 3.1 million years ago, forming Lake Palomas . River capture by a tributary of the Pecos River then occurred, with the Rio Grande flowing to Texas by 2.06 million years, and finally joining the Pecos River 800,000 years ago, which drained into the Gulf of Mexico. Volcanism in the Taos Plateau reduced drainage from the San Luis Basin until a spillover event 440,000 years ago that drained Lake Alamosa , forming
6222-410: The Rio Grande becomes the Mexico–United States border , between the U.S. state of Texas and the northern Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila , Nuevo León and Tamaulipas ; a short segment of the Rio Grande is a partial state-boundary between the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. Since the mid–twentieth century, only 20 percent of the Rio Grande's water reaches the Gulf of Mexico, because of
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#17327755312596344-444: The Rio Grande by discharge is the Rio Conchos, which contributes almost twice as much water as any other. In terms of drainage basin size, the Pecos River is the largest. Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈalβaɾ ˈnuɲeθ kaˈβeθa ðe ˈβaka] ; c. 1488/90/92 – after 19 May 1559 ) was a Spanish explorer of the New World , and one of four survivors of
6466-431: The Rio Grande farther north in Colorado and near Albuquerque, the 1938 Rio Grande Compact developed primarily because of the necessary repeal of the Rio Grande embargo among other issues. Though both Colorado and New Mexico were initially eager to begin negotiations, they broke down over whether Texas should be allowed to join negotiations in 1928, though it had representatives present. In an effort to avoid litigation of
6588-401: The Rio Grande has marked the boundary between Mexico and the United States from the twin cities of El Paso , Texas, and Ciudad Juárez , Chihuahua, to the Gulf of Mexico. As such, crossing the river was the escape route used by some Texan slaves to seek freedom. Mexico had liberal colonization policies and had abolished slavery in 1828. In 1899, after a gradual change to the river position,
6710-442: The Rio Grande is the national border between the U.S. and Mexico. The segment of the river that forms the international border ranges from 889 to 1,248 miles (1,431 to 2,008 km), depending on how the river is measured. The Rio Conchos is a major tributary of the Rio Grande, with its confluence 310 km. (193 straight air miles) southeast of El Paso near Ojinaga , in Chihuahua , Mexico. Downstream, other tributaries include
6832-530: The Rio Grande's discharge increases to its maximum annual average of 3,504 cubic feet per second (99 m /s) near Rio Grande City. Large diversions for irrigation below Rio Grande City reduce the river's average flow to 889 cubic feet per second (25 m /s) at Brownsville and Matamoros. The major international border crossings along the river are at Ciudad Juárez and El Paso ; Presidio and Ojinaga; Laredo and Nuevo Laredo ; McAllen and Reynosa ; and Brownsville and Matamoros. Other notable border towns are
6954-438: The Río de la Plata colony in South America, strongly criticizing the conduct of Martínez de Irala. The report was bound with his earlier La Relación and published under the title Comentarios (Commentary). He died in Jerez de la Frontera or Valladolid on an uncertain date, although there are no surviving records of him after 19 May 1559. La relación de Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca ("The story of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca")
7076-436: The Southwest, competing with other indigenous communities such as the Apache with territory in the Rio Grande Valley. This led to decades of conflict (the Coalition Period), the eventual merging of cultures, and the establishment of most of the Tanoan and Keresan pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley. This was followed by the Classic Period, from about 1325 CE to 1600 CE and the arrival of the Spanish. The upper Rio Grande Valley
7198-418: The Southwest. As he did not begin writing his chronicle until he was back in Spain, he had to rely on memory. He did not have instruments to determine his location; he had to rely on dead reckoning , and was uncertain of his route. Aware that his recollection has numerous errors in chronology and geography, historians have worked to put together pieces of the puzzle to discern his paths. In 1540, Cabeza de Vaca
7320-468: The Spanish colony in Mexico. Many natives were said to accompany the explorers on their journey across what is now known as the American Southwest and northern Mexico. After finally reaching the colonized lands of New Spain , where he first encountered fellow Spaniards near modern-day Culiacán , Cabeza de Vaca and the three other men reached Mexico City. From there he sailed back to Europe in 1537. Numerous researchers have tried to trace his route across
7442-424: The Spanish in 1582. Early American settlers in South Texas began to use the modern 'English' name Rio Grande. By the late 19th century, in the United States, the name Rio Grande had become standard in being applied to the entire river, from Colorado to the sea. By 1602, Río Bravo had become the standard Spanish name for the lower river, below its confluence with the Rio Conchos. The largest tributary of
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#17327755312597564-496: The Texas/Coahuila pairings of Del Rio – Ciudad Acuña and Eagle Pass – Piedras Negras . Río Grande is Spanish for "Big River" and Río Grande del Norte means "Big River of the North". In English, Rio Grande is pronounced either / ˈ r iː oʊ ˈ ɡ r æ n d / or / ˈ r iː oʊ ˈ ɡ r ɑː n d eɪ / . In Mexico, it is known as Río Bravo or Río Bravo del Norte , bravo meaning (among other things) "furious", "agitated" or "wild". Historically,
7686-427: The Teyas shared. The Teya may have been none of the above but instead may have been a Coahuiltecan or Tonkawa group. Most of these tribes resided in southern and central Texas. An old man who said he had previously met Spaniards, probably Cabeza de Vaca, gives credence to a southern origin of the Teyas. The ethnic identification of the Teyas may never be determined, but, if so, it would be most useful in untangling
7808-481: The Teyas were numerous, powerful, far ranging and that they participated in the politics of the Pueblos, thus strengthening the case that they were Tanoans. A narrow plurality of experts, however, believe that the Teyas were Caddoan language -speakers related to the Wichita peoples whom Coronado found in Quivira in central Kansas . The Teyas may have not been full-time nomads of the Plains; they may have also inhabited farming villages further east. Agrarian tribes of
7930-417: The U.S. and Mexico was built about 15 miles west of the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge. It was inaugurated in August 2015. It moved all rail operations out of downtown Brownsville and Matamoros. The West Rail International Crossing is the first new international rail crossing between the U.S. and Mexico in over a century. The Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge is now operated by
8052-431: The United States is regulated by the Rio Grande Compact , an interstate pact between Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. 62,780 acre-feet (77,440,000 m ) of water from the upper Colorado River basin per year is allotted to municipalities in New Mexico by the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact ; Albuquerque owns 48,200. The water is delivered to the Rio Grande via the San Juan–Chama Project . The project's construction
8174-467: The accounts of Cabeza de Vaca and Hernando de Soto are the only written records of their existence. By the time of the next European contact, many had vanished, possibly from diseases carried by Cabeza de Vaca and his companions . One of Cabeza de Vaca's greatest accomplishments in his journey was bringing peace throughout the land. As the travellers passed from one tribe to the next, warring tribes would immediately make peace and become friendly, so that
8296-419: The agricultural interests of the Mesilla Valley and those of El Paso and Juárez . In the agreement provisions were made to construct Elephant Butte dam on public lands. This act was the first occurrence of congressionally directed allocation of an interstate river (although New Mexico would not achieve statehood till 1912). Following the admittance of New Mexico into the union, the increased settlement of
8418-426: The battle of Puente de la Reina . In 1527, Cabeza de Vaca appeared at the royal court in Valladolid and received an appointment as royal treasurer for an expedition to be led by conquistador Pánfilo de Narváez to explore and conquer La Florida , a portion of North America roughly comprising today's southeastern United States. The reasons for his selection are not known but his history of loyal military service to
8540-417: The coast to pick up additional provisions at Trinidad . In October, while Cabeza de Vaca was ashore negotiating for supplies, a hurricane hit the coast, resulting in the destruction of both ships and the loss of sixty men and twenty horses. Narváez arrived in early November to pick up the survivors. Fearful of encountering another storm, Narváez decided to overwinter in Cuba. The four remaining ships anchored in
8662-497: The completion of San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project (SJCDWP) by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. The SJCDWP uses an adjustable-height diversion dam to skim imported San Juan-Chama water from the Rio Grande, then pumps this water to a treatment plant on Albuquerque's north side. From there it is added to a municipal drinking water distribution system serving Albuquerque's metro area. Diversions are restricted during periods of low river flow in order to protect
8784-629: The complexities of the protohistorical period on the Southern Plains. The later Escanjaque Indians , Aguacane , and Iscani may be descended from the Teyas. In 1541, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led an expedition onto the Great Plains from the Rio Grande pueblos in New Mexico . Coronado’s objective was to find a rich country called Quivira. Traversing the Texas panhandle Coronado met two groups of Indians:
8906-402: The conquering Spanish army and the natives. As Cabeza approached the area of Spanish settlement, he and his companions grieved to see the destruction of the native villages and enslavement of the native peoples. The fertile land lay uncultivated and the natives were nearly starving, hiding in the forest, for fear of the Spanish army. Cabeza de Vaca then encountered Diego de Alcaraz, commander of
9028-453: The crown was certainly a critical qualification. He also had a relative, Luis Cabeza de Vaca, serving on the all-important Council of the Indies . On 11 December 1526, Charles V commissioned Pánfilo de Narváez to explore, conquer, and settle a portion of North America called La Florida , a territory vaguely described as stretching along the Gulf coast from Mexico to Florida. Cabeza de Vaca
9150-610: The culture of the Malhado people, the Capoque, and Han American Indians, such as their treatment of offspring, their wedding rites, and their main sources of food. Cabeza de Vaca and his three fellow survivors at times served as slaves to the American Indians to survive. Through his observations, Cabeza de Vaca provides insights into 16th-century American Indian life near the present-day Mexico-Texas border. For many peoples
9272-400: The customs of the numerous indigenous people I talked with and dwelt among, as well as any other matters I could hear of or observe”. He took care to present facts, as a full account of what he observed. The Relation is the only account of many details concerning the indigenous people whom he encountered. The accuracy of his account has been validated by later reports of others, as well as by
9394-622: The district's Spanish capital, Asunción , far inland on the great Paraguay River . Cabeza de Vaca is thought to have been the first European to see the Iguaçu Falls . In March 1542, Cabeza de Vaca met with Domingo Martínez de Irala and relieved him of his position as governor. The government of Asunción pledged loyalty to Cabeza de Vaca, and Irala was assigned to explore a possible route to Peru. Once Irala returned and reported, Cabeza de Vaca planned his own expedition. He hoped to reach Los Reyes (a base that Irala set up) and push forward into
9516-611: The duke on behalf of the crown. When the comuneros tried unsuccessfully to seize control in Seville in September, the duke put him in charge of defending one of the city gates; in December he fought to liberate the city of Tordesillas ; and on 23 April 1521 he participated in the defeat of the comuneros at the battle of Villalar . Later in 1521 when the French king, Francis I , invaded Navarre , Cabeza de Vaca fought against them in
9638-460: The expedition. They spent forty-five days on the island re-provisioning the fleet, and bought a sixth ship. They were especially anxious to acquire horses, but there was a shortage of them in Hispaniola, so the expedition continued to Cuba, where they hoped to recruit more men and buy horses. Narváez anchored at Santiago de Cuba and ordered Cabeza de Vaca to take two ships and proceed further up
9760-402: The final ship and more supplies. Before reaching Havana however, they were hit by another storm and blown off course into the Gulf of Mexico. Short of supplies and fresh water, they decided to push on toward Florida rather than try to get back to Cuba. In April they sighted land, anchored and went ashore. Although the location of their landing has been much debated, more recent opinion leans toward
9882-469: The findings of which helped lead to the final agreement. The 1938 Rio Grande Compact provided for the creation of a compact commission, the creation of gaging stations along the river to ensure flow amounts by Colorado to New Mexico at the state line and by New Mexico to Elephant Butte Reservoir , the water once there would fall under the regulation of the Rio Grande Project which would guarantee provision to Texas and Mexico. A system of debits and credits
10004-478: The first major contribution to Chicano literature. Scholars have identified five major periods of Chicano literature: Spanish Mexican, Mexican American, Annexation, Chicano Renaissance, and Modern. Cabeza de Vaca is classified as part of the Spanish Mexican period; he recounted eight years of travel and survival in the area of Chicano culture: present-day Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. His account
10126-441: The following peoples by name in his La Relación (1542). The following list shows his names, together with what scholars suggested in 1919 were the likely tribes identified by names used in the 20th century. By that time, tribal identification was also related to more linguistic data. Possible Karankawan groups: Related to Karankawa: Possible Tonkawan groups: Possible Coahuiltecan or desert groups: In 1555, after
10248-427: The island. In 1537, Cabeza de Vaca returned to Spain, where he wrote his narratives of the Narváez expedition. These narratives were collected and published in 1542 in Spain. They are now known as The Relation of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. The narrative of Cabeza de Vaca is the “first European book devoted completely to North America.” His detailed account describes the lives of numerous tribes of American Indians of
10370-517: The jungle in search of a route to the gold and silver mines of Peru. The expedition did not go well, and Cabeza de Vaca returned to Asunción. During Cabeza de Vaca's absence, Irala had stirred up resistance to his rule and capitalized on political rivalries. Scholars widely agree that Cabeza de Vaca had an unusually sympathetic attitude towards the Native Americans for his time. The elite settlers in modern Argentina, known as encomenderos , generally did not agree with his enlightened conduct toward
10492-546: The least amount of control over the waterway, has routinely seen an under-provision of water since 1992. In 1997, the US designated the Rio Grande as one of the American Heritage Rivers . Two portions of the Rio Grande are designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers System , one in northern New Mexico and the other in Texas, at Big Bend National Park . In mid-2001, a 328-foot (100 m)-wide sandbar formed at
10614-708: The matter in the Supreme Court a provisional agreement was signed in 1929 which stated that negotiations would resume once a reservoir was built on the New Mexico-Colorado state line. The construction of this was delayed by the Market Crash of 1929 . With negotiations remaining stagnant, Texas sued New Mexico over the issue in 1935, prompting the intervention of the president who set up the Rio Grande Joint Investigation
10736-405: The mouth of the river, marking the first time in recorded history that the Rio Grande failed to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. The sandbar was dredged , but reformed almost immediately. Spring rains the following year flushed the reformed sandbar out to sea, but it returned in mid-2002. By late 2003, the river once again reached the Gulf. For much of the time since water rights were introduced in
10858-483: The natives back from the forests so that they would resume cultivating the land. Cabeza de Vaca and Díaz invited the natives to convert to Christianity, and the natives did so willingly. Cabeza de Vaca then instructed them to build a large wooden cross in each village, so that Spanish soldiers would pass through the village and not attack it. Soon afterward, Alcaraz's expedition returned and explained to Díaz that they were amazed to find, on their return journey, that not only
10980-469: The natives could receive the party and give them gifts. Cabeza noted in his personal account of the journey that, in this way, "We left the whole country in peace." Cabeza de Vaca saw these events as part of his purpose in America, writing that he believed that "God was guiding us to where we could serve Him." Cabeza de Vaca's greatest challenge as an ambassador came when he attempted to bring peace between
11102-461: The natural decrease in flow such that by the time the river reaches Presidio , little or no water is left. Below Presidio, the Rio Conchos restores the flow of water. Near Presidio, the river's discharge is frequently zero. Its average discharge is 178 cubic feet per second (5 m /s), down from 945 cubic feet per second (27 m /s) at Elephant Butte Dam. Supplemented by other tributaries,
11224-504: The oral traditions of descendants of some of the tribes. Cabeza's account also served as a petition to the King of Spain to both establish a permanent Christian mission and eventually establish the native tribes as a nation under the governance of Spain. In his reflection Cabeza writes to the king of Spain: Cabeza continued to be a strong advocate for the rights of Native American Indians throughout his lifetime. Cabeza De Vaca identified
11346-412: The party decided to abandon the interior and try to reach Pánuco. Slaughtering and eating their remaining horses, they gathered the stirrups, spurs, horseshoes and other metal items. They fashioned a bellows from deer hide to make a fire hot enough to forge tools and nails. They used these to make five primitive boats in hopes of reaching Mexico. The small flotilla launched on 22 September 1528, carrying
11468-461: The presence of mulberries, roses, grapes, nuts (probably pecans) and plums. After this first contact, Coronado traveled an additional four days and encountered a settlement called Cona that extended for three days travel along a small river in a canyon two or three miles wide. It is unclear whether Coronado followed the Brazos downstream or journeyed to a different canyon to visit Cona. "The country
11590-749: The region commonly ventured onto the plains for extended buffalo hunts. Archaeologists have found the remains of many farming villages of the time ( Wheeler phase including the Edwards Archaeological Site , believed to be Caddoan), near the Washita River in southwestern Oklahoma . The proximity of the Teyas to the Washita villages suggests a relationship. The description of the Teyas as painted and tattooed also points to them being Caddoans, since Wichita were called "Raccoon People" for their custom of tattooing around their eyes—a custom
11712-475: The region. Although the river's greatest depth is 60 feet (18 m), the Rio Grande generally cannot be navigated by passenger riverboats or by cargo barges . Navigation is only possible near the mouth of the river, in rare circumstances up to Laredo, Texas . Navigation was active during much of the 19th century, with over 200 different steamboats operating between the river's mouth close to Brownsville and Rio Grande City, Texas . Many steamboats from
11834-496: The riparian ecosystem and mitigate effects on endangered species like the Rio Grande silvery minnow . Treated effluent water is recycled into the Rio Grande south of the city. Surface water from the SJCDWP comprises a significant percentage of Albuquerque's drinking water supply, with groundwater constituting the remainder; annual percentages vary according to runoff and climate conditions. Acquisition of native pre-1907 water rights
11956-418: The river flows through the Rio Grande rift from one sediment -filled basin to another, cutting canyons between the basins and supporting a fragile bosque ecosystem on its flood plain . From Albuquerque southward, the river flows through desert. Although irrigated agriculture exists throughout most of its stretch, it is particularly extensive in the subtropical Lower Rio Grande Valley . The river ends in
12078-467: The river in spring of 2023 and flooding of some of its tributaries, including the Jemez and Pecos Rivers . By that summer, after the spring runoff had concluded and due to a failed New Mexico monsoon season and record high temperatures, the river went dry in Albuquerque for a second consecutive year. The United States and Mexico share the water of the river under a series of agreements administered by
12200-571: The same people Coronado encountered. Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( / ˌ r iː oʊ ˈ ɡ r æ n d / or / ˌ r iː oʊ ˈ ɡ r ɑː n d eɪ / ) in the United States or the Río Bravo ( del Norte ) in Mexico ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈri.o ˈβɾaβo ðel ˈnoɾte] ), also known as P’osoge in Tewa and Tó Ba’áadi in Navajo , is one of the principal rivers (along with
12322-547: The service of Juan Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán, 3rd Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1503. The house of Medina Sidonia was one of the most powerful in Andalusia and was a dominant force in Seville, the commercial center of Spain's growing overseas empire. Cabeza de Vaca served as a page and then chamberlain for the duke. In 1511 he traveled to Italy to fight against the French in the Italian Wars . In February 1512 he took part in
12444-501: The ships. Cabeza de Vaca rejected the suggestion of cowardice and participated in the overland march. He later wrote, "I preferred risking my life to placing my honor in jeopardy." Narváez and his men set off overland in early May, 1528. They marched north for 15 days without seeing any Indians or native settlements. Then, as they were attempting to cross a swift-flowing river (probably the Withlacoochee ), they were confronted by
12566-416: The states of New Mexico and Texas based on their respective amount of irrigable land. The project also accorded 60,000 acre-feet (74 million cubic meters ) of water annually to Mexico in response to the country's demands. This was meant to put an end to the many years of disagreement concerning rights to the river's flow and the construction of a dam and reservoir at various location on the river between
12688-424: The time. Cabeza de Vaca showed compassion and respect for native peoples, which, together with the great detail he recorded, distinguishes his narrative from others of the period. Cabeza de Vaca reported on the customs and ways of American Indian life, aware of his status as an early European explorer. He spent eight years with various peoples, including the Capoque, Han, Avavare, and Arbadao. He describes details of
12810-589: The upper Gulf Coast . The tribes to which Cabeza de Vaca was enslaved included the Hans and the Capoques , and tribes later called the Karankawa and Coahuiltecan . Only four men managed to escape: Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza , Alonso del Castillo Maldonado , and an African slave of Dorantes, Estevanico . Traveling mostly with this small group, Cabeza de Vaca walked generally south through what
12932-477: The vicinity of Tampa Bay . During a quick reconnaissance of the area, they came upon a few small villages of Indians belonging to the Safety Harbor culture . Communicating with them through sign language, the Spanish were informed that a community or region called Apalachee lay to the north and was rich with food and gold. Cabeza de Vaca later noted that whenever Narváez expressed interest in something,
13054-528: The voluminous consumption of water required to irrigate farmland (e.g. the Mesilla and Lower Rio Grande Valleys ) and to continually hydrate cities (e.g. Albuquerque); such water usages are additional to the reservoirs of water retained with diversion dams . 260 miles (418 km) of the river in New Mexico and Texas are designated as the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River . The Rio Grande rises in
13176-548: The water debt owed to Texas increased from 31,000 acre-feet to over 130,000 acre-feet since 2021, despite "very significant efforts that were done on the river this year to keep water flowing downstream." In response, New Mexico increased its program offering to subsidize farmers who fallow their fields rather than planting crops, which uses additional water; the city of Albuquerque shut off its domestic supply diversion and switched to full groundwater pumping in 2021. Additionally, in 2022, work began on El Vado Dam , during which it
13298-805: The western part of Rio Grande National Forest , in the U.S. state of Colorado , and is formed by the joining of several streams at the base of Canby Mountain , in the San Juan Mountains , due east of the Continental Divide of the Americas . From the Continental Divide, the Rio Grande flows through the San Luis Valley , then south into New Mexico , and passes through the Rio Grande Gorge , near Taos, then toward Española , afterwards collecting additional waters from
13420-554: Was Teresa Cabeza de Vaca, also from an hidalgo family. He was named after his mother's great-grandfather, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, but the real influence in his life was his paternal grandfather, Pedro de Vera. Pedro de Vera [ ca ; de ; es ; fr ; ro ; ru ] was described by contemporaries as an expert in fighting battles on land and sea. He led raids against the Moors in North Africa and in 1483 completed
13542-414: Was a major Apalachee settlement, so Narváez ordered Cabeza de Vaca to lead about fifty soldiers to seize the village. There was no resistance to their attack and Cabeza de Vaca found only women and children whom he rounded up to serve as hostages. A thorough search of the houses found plenty of food but none of the hoped for gold and gems. Apalachee had no gold but had only corn, but the explorers were told
13664-834: Was appointed adelantado of the Río de la Plata in South America. The colony comprised parts of what is now Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Cabeza de Vaca was assigned to find a usable route from this colony to the riches of the former Incan Empire in Peru and Bolivia now controlled by the Spanish. The heartland of the empire was in the Andes Mountains near the Pacific Coast. En route, he disembarked from his fleet at Santa Catarina Island in modern Brazil. With an indigenous force, plus 250 musketeers and 26 horses, he followed native trails discovered by Aleixo Garcia overland to
13786-544: Was arrested in 1544 and then transported to Spain for trial in 1545. Although his sentence was eventually commuted, he never returned to the Americas. He introduced the story of the India Juliana in his accounts. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was born around 1490 in the Andalusian town of Jerez de la Frontera , Cádiz . His father, Francisco de Vera was an hidalgo , a rank of minor Spanish nobility. His mother
13908-406: Was characterized by occasional periods of extreme drought, and the human inhabitants make extensive use of gridded gardens and check dams to stretch the uncertain water supply. In 1519, a Spanish naval expedition along the northeastern coast of Mexico charted the mouths of several rivers including the Rio Grande. In 1536, the Rio Grande appeared for the first time on a map of New Spain produced by
14030-412: Was created to account for variations in the water provided. The compact remains in effect today, though it has been amended twice. In 1944, the US and Mexico signed a treaty regarding the river. Due to drought conditions which have prevailed throughout much of the 21st century, calls for a reexamination of this treaty have been made by locals in New Mexico, Mexico, and Texas. Texas, being the state with
14152-442: Was heavily fined for his actions and recalled to Castile in 1490. Cabeza de Vaca would have heard of these exploits growing up; many years later he named a province in South America, Vera, in honor of his grandfather. Cabeza de Vaca's father and grandfather died around 1506 and his mother died in 1509, leaving behind a modest estate for her seven children. His younger siblings went to live with their aunt but Álvar had already entered
14274-694: Was initiated by legislation signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, and was completed in 1971. This diversion project transports water under the continental divide from tributaries of the San Juan River (the Navajo, the Little Navajo, and Blanco Rivers) to Heron Reservoir, which empties into the Rio Chama before this connects to the Rio Grande. Although it held rights to San Juan-Chama water for many years, it wasn't until 2008 that Albuquerque began using it as part of its municipal supply, with
14396-612: Was named treasurer by royal appointment, a position that put him second in command and made him chiefly responsible to look after the emperor's interests during the expedition. He was promised an annual salary of 130,000 maravedies , payable upon his return. Their fleet of five vessels set sail from Spain on 17 June 1527, carrying 600 soldiers and colonists, including a few married women and African slaves. When they stopped in Hispaniola for supplies, Narváez lost more than 140 of his men, who chose to stay behind rather than continue with
14518-496: Was published in a new edition in Madrid, Spain. The introduction says the intent of this edition was to publicize Cabeza de Vaca's observations and experiences to strengthen authentic representations. This has been described as having the objective of portraying Cabeza de Vaca as less aggressive , while trying to authenticate his role as a sympathetic observer of the natives. Herrera (2011) classifies Cabeza de Vaca's La Relacion as
14640-469: Was retitled Naufragios y comentarios ("Shipwrecks and Commentaries"). Cabeza de Vaca is sometimes considered a proto- anthropologist for his detailed accounts of the many tribes of Native Americans that he encountered. In 1540, Cabeza de Vaca was appointed adelantado of what is now Paraguay , where he was governor and captain general of New Andalusia . He worked to build up the population of Buenos Aires but, charged with poor administration, he
14762-428: Was the land repopulated, but the natives coming to greet them with crosses in hand and also gave them provisions. Díaz then ordered Alcaraz to do no harm to these natives. Cabeza de Vaca wrote this narrative to Charles V to “transmit what I saw and heard in the nine years I wandered lost and miserable over many remote lands”. He wanted to convey “not merely a report of positions and distances, flora and fauna, but of
14884-409: Was well occupied," said the chroniclers. The Coronado chroniclers described the Teyas as intelligent and formidable archers. One of them shot an arrow that passed through both shoulders of a bison, "which would be a good shot for a musket." The women were well-dressed and modest, covering their whole bodies by wearing a petticoat beneath a fringed cloak with sleeves. One of the women was "as white as
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