The 'Rio Grande Valley' is an area located in the southernmost tip of
Texas. It lies along the northern bank of the
Rio Grande, which separates
Mexico from the
United States.
The Rio Grande Valley is not a
valley, but a
delta or
floodplain. Early settlers from Mexico felt that the term "Valley" sounded more inviting to tourists and northern investors than did "Delta." The Rio Grande Valley is also called "El Valle", the Spanish translation of "the valley", by those who live there.
The region is made up of four counties:
Starr County,
Hidalgo County,
Willacy County, and
Cameron County.
Its largest cities are
Brownsville and
McAllen. Other major cities include
Harlingen,
Mission,
Edinburg, and
Pharr.
[1]
Cities and Counties
Tourism
The Valley encompasses several landmarks that attract tourists, and is primarily known for
South Padre Island. Other popular destinations in include
Point Isabel Lighthouse,
Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge,
Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. The Valley is a popular waypoint for tourists seeking to visit Mexico. Popular destinations across the border include:
Matamoros,
Nuevo Progreso,
Rio Bravo, and
Reynosa, all located in the Mexican state of
Tamaulipas. The Valley also attracts large quantities of lucrative tourists from the Mexican states of
Nuevo Leon,
Districto Federal, and
Tamaulipas.
People of historical interest
The last battle of The Civil War, the
Brownsville Raid and the construction of the
Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle all took place in The Rio Grande Valley.
A list of notable people who were born, lived, or died in the Rio Grande Valley includes:
★
Gloria E. Anzaldúa (Writer/Poet, Hargill, Texas)
★
Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. (U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Mission, Texas)
★
Harlon Block (Iwo Jima flag raiser, died on Iwo Jima, Weslaco, Texas)
★
Hee_Haw (T.V. performer, Edinburg, Texas)
★
Thomas Haden Church (Actor, Harlingen, Texas)
★
Tony Garza (U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Brownsville, Texas)
★
Kika de la Garza (U.S. Representative, Mission, Texas)
★
Freddy Fender (Musician/Actor lyricist, San Benito, Texas)
★
Mike Fossum (Astronaut, McAllen, Texas)
★
Alfredo C. Gonzalez (Highly distinguished U.S. Marine Veteran, Edinburg, Texas)
★
Kris Kristofferson (Musician, actor, song writer, Brownsville, Texas)
★
Tom Landry (American football coach, Mission, Texas)
★
Rachel McLish (Ms. Olympia, actor, Harlingen, Texas)
★
Eduardo Paz-Martinez (Writer, journalist)
★
Bobby Joe Morrow (Olympic gold medalist, San Benito, Texas)
★
Americo Paredes (Writer, Brownsville,Texas)
★
Major Samuel Ringgold (Father of modern artillery, served at what is now Fort Ringgold, Rio Grande City, Texas)
★
Rigo Tovar(musician/actor/composer, Matamoros, Tamps)
★
Valente Rodriguez (Actor, Edcouch, Texas)
★
Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, USA, Ret. (Ground forces commander in Iraq, Rio Grande City, Texas)
★
Merced Solis (aka Tito Santana, Wrestler, Mission, Texas)
★
Nick Stahl (Actor, Harlingen, Texas)
Places of Historical Interest
The First Lift Station in Mission, Texas once provided water for irrigating the crops of the early Rio Grande Valley.
★
First Lift Station
★
Los Ebanos Ferry Last hand operated ferry on the Rio Grande River
★
La Lomita Historic District
★
Fort Brown
★
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site
★
Resaca de la Palma
★ Rancho de Carricitos
★
USMC War Memorial original plaster working model
★
Hidalgo County Historical Museum Originally the County Court House and Jail, built in the late 1800s
Economy
The Valley is reliant on
Agribusiness and
Tourism.
Cotton,
various sorghums,
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 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 River. The geographic inclusion of
South Padre Island also drives tourism, particularly during the
Spring Break season, during which SPI becomes reminisent of
New Orleans during
Mardi Gras.
According to the 1990 census figures, which under-reported the illegal immigrants in the region, just under 82 percent of Cameron County, over 85 percent of Hidalgo County, over 97 percent of Starr County, and over 84 percent of Willacy County were Hispanic.
The Valley is a popular Winter tourist destination for residents from the Midwest United States and Canada (called Winter Texans). Along with Mexican nationals and thousands of college students who visit South Padre Island throughout March and April, Winter Texans are the bulk of the Valley's tourism. Winter Texans typically arrive in October-November and stay until February-March, causing a seasonal swell for local businesses.
The Valley is also the only region in the United States where
birders can observe certain varieties of endangered and migratory birds. It is also along the path taken by the migratory
Monarch Butterfly as it transits to and from the Mexican state of
Michoacan.
Education
★
University of Texas at Brownsville
★
University of Texas–Pan American
★
Texas State Technical College
★
South Texas College
Media
Newspapers
★ ''
The Monitor'' - owned by
Freedom Communications.
Official Site
★ ''
La Frontera'' - owned by
Freedom Communications & The Monitor.
Official Site
★ ''
The Brownsville Herald'' - owned by
Freedom Communications.
Official Site
★ ''
El Nuevo Heraldo'' - owned by
Freedom Communications & The Brownsville Herald.
Official Site
★ ''
El Extra'' - owned by
Freedom Communications & The Brownsville Herald.
★ ''
Valley Morning Star'' - owned by
Freedom Communications.
Official Site
★ ''
The Island Breeze'' - owned by
Freedom Communications & the Valley Morning Star.
Official Site
★ ''
Mid-Valley Town Crier'' - owned by
Freedom Communications.
Official Site
Television
★
XHRIO-TV FOX 2 News,
FOX Affiliate
Official Site
★
XHRIO-TV My 2,
My Network TV Affiliate (Secondary)
★
KGBT-TV/DT Action 4 News,
CBS Affiliate
Official Site
★
KRGV-TV/DT Newschannel 5,
ABC Affiliate
Official Site
★
LATV on KRGV-DT digital subchannel 5.2
★
KVEO-TV/DT News Center 23,
NBC Affiliate
Official Site
★
KLUJ-TV/DT 44,
TBN Affiliate
★
KTLM-TV/DT 40,
Telemundo Affiliate
★
KNVO-TV/DT 48,
Univision Affiliate
Official Site
★
KMHB 53, Cable-only
CW Affiliate
Official Site
★
KMBH-TV/DT 60,
PBS Affiliate
Official Site
Radio
★
KGBT-FM 98.5 FM (Regional Mexican) Univision
★
KBTQ 96.1 Recuerdo (Spanish Oldies)Univision
★
KGBT 1530 La Tremenda (Univision)
★
KKPS Local Tejano Music
Que Pasa 99.5 Official Site
★
KBFM Wild 104, formerly B-104 (Hip Hop/Top 40)
★
KIWW (Spanish)
★
KMBH/
KHID 88.9/88.1 NPR (Classical/Public Radio)
★
KTEX 100.3 (Country)
★
KNVO Romantica 101.1
Official Site
★
KQXX 105.5 (Oldies)
★
KVLY Mix 107.9 (Adult Contemporary)
Official Site
★
KFRQ The Q 94.5 (Classic/Modern/Hard Rock)
Official Site
★
KHKZ Hot Kiss 106.3 (Popular Adult Contemporary)
★
KESO Digital 92.7 (Internacional, Spanish Top 40)
★
KIRT 1580 AM Radio Imagen (Variety, Spanish contemporary)
★
KURV 710 AM Heritage Talk Radio (part of the BMP family of stations)
Webcams
★
Rio Grande Cam
★
Turtle Cam - South Padre Island
★
Beach Cam - South Padre Island
External links
★
Valley Chamber ''Rio Grande Valley Partnership.
★
Rio Grande Valley Online Information Center ''Information about all points of interest throught the Rio Grande Valley.
★
Rio Grande Valley Sports Information Center ''Information on all the latest local sports of the Rio Grande Valley.
★
Borderfest ''Borderfest Historical data and info site.
★
RGV Pride Information about people, places, and events in the Rio Grande Valley.
References
1. http://ea.panam.edu/disc/popestrgv.html
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