The Rio Grande
Many people think that having a river near their city can always be good as they can make a good usage of the river, just like San Antonio made their river very profitable. What people never think is what problems or controversies the river can create. Almost always a river may have its advantages and disadvantages and it is no different with the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande is not as profitable because two countries own the river. Instead if it was own by only one country then the river would be more useful. The Rio Grande creates many problems between the United States and Mexican Government, it is also very useful for both governments and for human beings, the water itself has many issues, and should the water not be used anymore.
Many problems arise do to the Rio Grande between governments especially, between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Although there have been several treaties concerning this river, one government is never happy and always wants a bigger part of the river. Both governments believe the river only belongs to one country, that is because they are greedy and just do not want to share the water when they believe they should be the owner of all the river. For example, in El Paso and Juarez the water should be split in half, but instead El Paso takes nearly all of the water. Before, Juarez would get most of the water even though El Paso did get a great quantity. A few years back El Paso decided to construct a path that would lead all the water to
Obama’s second term was ending and there was a new president was chosen on January 20,2017 and this was one of the worst days for the Latinos in RGV aka Rio Grande Valley. This day was when President Donald J. Trump got in office at the white house every Mexican in the Valley was so worried about this day because while he was doing his run for president, he said things that offended a lot of Mexicans and those things he said was “Mexicans are Rapists, Criminals and Killers” also Trump said: “All Mexicans that are immigrants will go back to Mexico” and “I will build a wall so immigrants will not cross over”. While the things he said in the speeches during his run for presidency caused a major outbreak on all Mexicans wanting him not to be
Conflict can also occur within a country, for example the states situated within the Colorado river basin have been constantly squabbling over who owns the water supply and who should be allocated the most water. In the 1920s the ‘Law of the River’ established the division of water amongst the upper basin states, it also defined their responsibility to supply water to the lower basin states. This division had been based on an estimated annual flow of 21 billion m3/yr in 1920, however this was a time of above normal flows, recent studies have indicated that long term average flows are around 18 billion m3/yr. The deficit between the flow and the allocation has become more apparent as the population in the clorado basin states continues to rise. As a result of this deficit tensions are rising between the states, California receives a large percentage of the water as a result of its large population and political power even though the river does not directly flow through it. This has heightened tensions with the states
One of the largest geographic physical structures in the United States is the Colorado River. Human activity and its interaction with this great river have an interesting history. The resources provided by the river have been used by humans, and caused conflict for human populations as well. One of these conflicts is water distribution, and the effects drought conditions have played in this distribution throughout the southwestern region. Major cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other communities in the southwest depend on the river. It provides water for over 20 million people, irrigation for 2 million acres of land, four thousand megawatts of hydroelectric energy, and over twenty million annual visitors for
The Colorado River Basin starts in the Rocky Mountains and cuts through 1500 miles of canyon lands and deserts of seven US states and two Mexican states to supply a collection of dams and reservoirs with water to help irrigate cropland, support 40 million people, and provide hydroelectric power for the inland western United States [1,2]. From early settlement, rights over the river have been debated and reassigned to different states in the upper and lower basin; however, all the distribution patterns lead to excessive consumption of the resource. In 1922, the seven US states signed into the Colorado River Compact, which outlined the policy for the distribution rights to the water [3], however, this compact was written during an exceptionally
In 1846 throughout 1848, a war to conquer land from Mexico were orders held by James K. Polk. An unjust war is about to occur, In 1846 Texas becomes Independent from Mexico and the United States. To begin with, Mexico approves for the Americans to settle onto Texas with one condition to not bring slaves along with them. During this time period, slavery was one of the most important political concerns and they opposed slavery. The Americans didn’t hold the values of anti-slavery, during this time they valued Manifest Density strongly. Accepting some restrictions from Mexico placed was nothing compared to its own destiny to occur from preventing America to stretch outward towards the Pacific Ocean. The main conflict started with the annexation of Texas, a dispute on the nation’s border, the Mexicans consider the Nueces river to be the border of Texas as for Americans that wasn’t enough land so they consider, Rio Grande the border. A way to aim to
This research paper focuses on the Rio Grande Valley, and immigration. The purpose of this research paper is to demonstrate that immigration to the Rio Grande valley has had a negative impact. Effects immigration has on the Valley 's economy, employment, and education are discussed. The concepts of "informal" and "underground" economy by Richardson, C. and Pisani, M. are covered to demonstrate the unique economy the Rio Grande has. Poverty rates at a national and local level are compared. Studies by Richardson, C. and Pagan, J. are used for their statistical information regarding unemployment in the Rio Grande Valley from the years 2000 until today. Counterarguments regarding positive effects in the Rio Grande are considered. Conclusion reached is that immigration in the Rio Grande Valley does have a negative effect, although it is needed, to a certain point in employment and economy; however a positive impact has been experienced in education.
DBQ: Was The United States Justified In Going To War With Mexico? When Congress voted to annex Texas, the U.S. and Mexico had different perceptions on what the border of Texas was; the Americans thought it was at the Rio Grande, and Mexicans believed it was at the Nueces River. After Mexicans killed 16 Americans north of the Rio del Norte, the states decided it was an act of war. Because this was the perfect excuse for him to ask for war, on May 11, 1846, President James Polk asked Congress to go to war with Mexico, and Congress made “The Mexican War” official.
Nueces and the Del Norte (Rio Grande). " This had become necessary, to meet a threatened invasion of Texas by the Mexican forces.... The invasion was threatened solely because Texas had determined ... to annex herself to our Union; and, under these circumstances, it was plainly our duty to extend our protection over her citizens and soil. ... The Congress of Texas, by its act of December 19, 1836, had declared the Rio del Norte to be the boundary of that repub-lic. ( Document B).
Known as the fifth largest river in the United States the Rio Grande River is 1,885 miles long and since 1848 became a boundary between Mexico and United States. It flows through the head waters of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado and it runs to Gulf of Mexico close to the city of Brownsville, TX. The Rio Grande River flows through arid regions, which is very important for both the human consumption and a source of water for wildlife. “Because a large proportion of the river’s basin is arid or semiarid, however, only about half of the total area, or about 176,000 square miles, actually contributes to the river’s flow” (Jr, 2014).Types of species that live in the Rio Grande River and many type of fish such as the red shiner, Rio grande silvery minnow and the plant species such as sedge. Sedge is a grass like aquatic plant that grows along the bank of the river, marshes and shallow ponds. Many types of animal species eat this plant such as ducks, geese, and muskrat’s. Many types of animals that live in in this area use these plant for hiding from
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1948, ended the Mexican-American War. The treaty doubled the size of the United States and halved the size of Mexico, as it stated that Mexico give the United States Texas and accept the Rio Grande as Texas’s boundary, as well as sell New Mexico and Upper California to the United States for fifteen million dollars. Conditions of the treaty included that any Mexicans currently living in the territories that were now owned by the United States could become U.S. citizens and gave the U.S. power to deal with any “problematic” Native Americans on the U.S. side of the border. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo sparked many lasting controversies and political/social issues still present today. Some of the effects of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo are the end of slavery in the United States and the negative stereotypes of Mexicans held by Americans.
Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.
The United States border with Mexico is one of the most interesting borders in the world. Although it is not a military front like the border between the Koreas or as militarized as the border of Russia and the Ukraine, there is a lot going on that requires attention. The southern border of the United States is different from almost all of those in the world because many of its problems are based off of the economic disparity between each country. The difference between wealth and quality of life is substantial and results in people going beyond regular means to cross the border to have a better life. There is also a large difference in the legal and law enforcement system that is exploited by Mexican cartels to make money through drug and human trafficking. The differences between these two
This is a good thing about Latin America because it would probably impact the economy if it wasn’t there. It is the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal is a waterway that brings together the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. It really helped trade in Latin America. The canal was built by the Americans in 1904 and a lot of leaders took over the project, including John Wallace, John Stevens and George Washington Goethals. The project was finished in 1914 after taking 10 years to build. The Panama Canal is an important feature to Latin America because it is a quicker way to import and export goods or cargo. It made it easier because instead of going all the way around South America you can go through Panama which saves you a lot of time. That means a lot of more ships pass through. If there was no Panama Canal like I said it would take a lot longer to travel to bring stuff somewhere by water. I also think there would be less ships traveling because not a lot of people would like to travel a long time at sea. I also think a lot of people would die because the trip would take so long. That is how the Panama Canal impacted Latin America in a good way.
Prior to settlement of the western United States, the Colorado River roamed free. Starting from cool mountain streams, the river eventually became a thunderous, silty force of nature as it entered the canyons along its path. The river nourished wetlands and other riparian habitats from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the delta at the Sea of Cortez in Northwest Mexico. Settlers along the river harnessed these waters mainly for agriculture via irrigation canals, but flooding from spring runoff wreaked havoc on agricultural land, prevented development in the floodplain and full utilization of the water, a waste in the eyes of western farmers. In order to meet current and future water demands in the west, the Federal Government
Many countries are also highly dependent on water that originates outside their borders; the water diversion provided by dams for countries that are downstream exacerbates an already serious problem. The diversion of river systems is an area of international concern, the nature and extent of such interdependency is already extensive: 145 countries share over 261 international river basin. As demand increases, and as indigenous sources of water become fully utilized or exhausted, the only alternatives are likely to be international (Dolatyar, 2006). Ironically, the very solution of one country's scarcity, plunges another into water shortage, this is the reason why water security is one of the most crucial foreign policy considerations of a globally connected economic and political atmosphere.