Activity Set One:

1. It starts in Colorado: At its beginning the Rio Grande is a clear, snow-fed stream more than 12,000 feet (3,700m) above sea level. It originates in the San Juan Mountains, a segment of the southern Rockies in southwestern Colorado and into northern New Mexico. From this area, the river flows generally southward across Colorado and New Mexico. A key point which defines the river's upper section include Elephant Butte Dam east of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. From there, the river flows down to El Paso/Ciudad Juarez and continues its southeastern course, marking the current Texas-Mexico border.

Using a yellow pencil, highlight the Rio Grande from its origin in the San Juan Mountains until it reaches the Border cities of El Paso/Ciudad Juarez. Color the Dam in pink pencil.

2. The Conchos River Watershed: 284 miles (454 kilometers) below El Paso/Ciudad Juarez is another watershed area. Here the Rio Grande river is fed by the Mexican river, Río Conchos. The Conchos flows out of Chihuahua into the Rio Grande just below Presidio, Texas/ Ojinaga, Mexico. From here, the river dips and curves past the Big Bend National Park. In Langtry, Texas it is fed by the Pecos River. A bit further west it is fed by the Devil's River near Amistad Dam. Between Amistad Dam and the Falcon Reservoir, a stretch which Texans call the Middle Rio Grande reach, the river has no major tributaries.

Continue to highlight the course of the Rio Grande in yellow pencil. Now, using a blue pencil, trace the Conchos River as it flows into the Rio Grande. Indicate the other tributaries in blue pencil. These will include the Pecos and Devil's River. Highlight the Amistad Dam and the Falcon Reservoir in pink.

3. Out to the Gulf: From Falcon Reservoir to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 275 miles (442 kilometers) is known as the Lower Rio Grande. At the Reservoir, the river is fed by the Río Salado from Mexico. Further east it is fed by the Río San Juan - also Mexican. Finally, after 2,000 miles of flow - sometimes as a torrent and sometimes as a mere trickle, the Rio Grande/Río Bravo del Norte empties into the saltwater of the Gulf.

Finish highlighting the Rio Grande in yellow. Highlight the other tributaries, the Río Salado and Río San Juan, in blue. Make sure the Falcon Reservoir is highlighted in pink. With a green pencil, indicate the edges of the Gulf of Mexico.

4. Check Your Work: Make sure that the Rio Grande is highlighted in yellow and that all its tributaries are marked in blue. Make sure any reservoirs or dams are highlighted in pink. The Gulf of Mexico should be edged in green. Use another colored pencil to underline any major cities or landmarks along the river.

1. What is the meaning of the term erosion? Talk about the evidence of erosion in one of these photos.

2. The river etched in the landscape. Are you reminded of any alphabet letters or numbers in the path carved by the river's course. List three letters or numbers you have found in these nine images.

Susan Stewart.
The Magic Valley Sunflower,
south of Mission, Texas, where
sunflowers are commercially
grown for seeds.

1. Photographers can create different moods with their photos. Write three things about the mood that Bruce Berman has created here.

2. Here is the description of the river written by a poet, Cordelia Candelaria. Read it and compare it to the sentiment in Berman's photograph:

from Portrait by the River (a section of a larger work, La Llorona)

from: Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature by Tey Diana Rebolledo and Eliana S. Rivero. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1993, page 217.

3. Do you think that the river separates or connects the two lands on either side of its banks in this photograph? Explain your answer in two complete sentences.

4. Pretend that you have climbed up into that bare tree. What would you be thinking? what would you smell? would you be chilly or warm? Give a one sentence answer for each question.

5. Compare Berman’s photo with Sharon Stewart’s photo of a sunflower (#28). What mood is evoked in Stewart’s photograph. How does it differ from Berman’s? How is it similar? Answer in three sentences.