Jan 29, 2008
Is the Rio Grande Valley really a valley?
Why, a reader asked, do people call the subtropical southern tip of Texas the Rio Grande Valley?
"There isn't a mountain for 500 miles in any direction. Doesn't the word, valley, suggest elevation surrounding it?" she said.
Yes, usually.
The dictionary definition of valley also includes "an area drained by a river and its tributaries." But delta is probably a better term for describing that portion of the state along the lower 100 miles or so of the Rio Grande.
"Geologically and geographically, the Rio Grande Valley is no valley. It's a delta," said historian T.R. Fehrenbach, who was born in the "valley" town of San Benito. He guessed that early Anglo settlers of the area started using the term, Rio Grande Valley, because they believed "valley is a prettier word."
Fehrenbach also noted that "valley" is commonly used in the West to describe "vast expanses with rivers running through them."
"There isn't a mountain for 500 miles in any direction. Doesn't the word, valley, suggest elevation surrounding it?" she said.
Yes, usually.
The dictionary definition of valley also includes "an area drained by a river and its tributaries." But delta is probably a better term for describing that portion of the state along the lower 100 miles or so of the Rio Grande.
"Geologically and geographically, the Rio Grande Valley is no valley. It's a delta," said historian T.R. Fehrenbach, who was born in the "valley" town of San Benito. He guessed that early Anglo settlers of the area started using the term, Rio Grande Valley, because they believed "valley is a prettier word."
Fehrenbach also noted that "valley" is commonly used in the West to describe "vast expanses with rivers running through them."