Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Rio Grande - Wild and Scenic River
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Location	New Mexico and Texas
Coordinates	29°29′0″N 103°18′0″W / 29.48333°N 103.30000°W / 29.48333; -103.30000
Area	9,600 acres
Established	October 2, 1968
Governing body	Bureau of Land Management, United States Forest Service, National Park Service
Website	Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

National Wild and Scenic River
Type	Wild 150.1 miles (241.6 km) Scenic 108.5 miles (174.6 km) Recreational 0.8 miles (1.3 km)
Designated	October 2, 1968^[1]

The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River is a U.S. National Wild and Scenic River that protects 260 miles (420 km) of the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Texas, in the United States. The designation was first applied in 1968 to a 55.7-mile (89.6 km) stretch of the river in New Mexico; an additional 191.2 miles (307.7 km) of the river in Texas was added in 1978, followed by another 12.5 miles (20.1 km) in New Mexico in 1994.

The New Mexico portion of the Wild and Scenic River runs from the New Mexico–Colorado border approximately 68 miles (109 km) south. The lower 4 miles (6 km) of the Red River, a tributary of the Rio Grande in Taos County, New Mexico, was also added to the Wild and Scenic River System. The two rivers intersect in Wild Rivers Recreation Area.

Approximately 69 miles (111 km) of the Wild and Scenic River in Texas is within Big Bend National Park; the remainder is downstream of Big Bend. Three rugged canyons are preserved under this designation: Boquillas Canyon is the most accessible, as it can be reached via a popular RV campground; Mariscal Canyon can only be entered via a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle; and entrance to the Lower Canyon, due to rapid size, is only possible by signing a National Park Service liability or "acknowledgement of risk" waiver. The Wild and Scenic River designation does not include Santa Elena Canyon, which is the most popular recreational area in Big Bend.

Gallery

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Rio Grande Bend near Boquillas Canyon

References

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^ "National Wild and Scenic Rivers System" (PDF). rivers.gov. National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Retrieved 2023-01-05.

External links

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Media related to Rio Grande at Wikimedia Commons
Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River - National Park Service
Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River - Bureau of Land Management

v t e Protected areas of New Mexico
National Parks	Carlsbad Caverns White Sands
National Historical Parks	Chaco Culture Manhattan Project Pecos
National monuments	Aztec Ruins Bandelier Capulin Volcano El Malpais El Morro Fort Union Gila Cliff Dwellings Petroglyph Salinas Pueblo Missions
National Recreation Areas	Jemez (USFS)
National Trails	Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Old Spanish Trail Santa Fe Trail
National Forests	Apache–Sitgreaves Carson Cibola Coronado Gila Lincoln Santa Fe
National Grasslands	Kiowa
National Wildlife Refuges	Bitter Lake Bosque del Apache Grulla Las Vegas Maxwell San Andres Sevilleta Valle de Oro
National Conservation Areas	El Malpais Fort Stanton–Snowy River Cave
BLM National Monuments	Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks Prehistoric Trackways Rio Grande del Norte
National Natural Landmarks	List of National Natural Landmarks in New Mexico
National Preserves	Valles Caldera
Wilderness	Aldo Leopold Apache Kid Bandelier Bisti/De-Na-Zin Blue Range Bosque del Apache Capitan Mountains Carlsbad Caverns Cebolla Chama River Canyon Columbine–Hondo Cruces Basin Dome Gila Latir Peak Manzano Mountain Ojito Pecos Sabinoso Salt Creek San Pedro Parks Sandia Mountain West Malpais Wheeler Peak White Mountain Withington
Wild and Scenic Rivers	East Fork Jemez River Pecos River Red River Rio Chama Rio Grande
State Parks	Bluewater Lake Bottomless Lakes Brantley Lake Caballo Lake Cerrillos Hills Cimarron Canyon City of Rocks Clayton Lake Conchas Lake Coyote Creek Eagle Nest Lake El Vado Lake Elephant Butte Lake Fenton Lake Heron Lake Hyde Memorial Leasburg Dam Living Desert Zoo and Gardens Manzano Mountains Mesilla Valley Bosque Morphy Lake Navajo Lake Oasis Oliver Lee Memorial Pancho Villa Percha Dam Rio Grande Nature Center Rockhound Santa Rosa Lake Storrie Lake Sugarite Canyon Sumner Lake Ute Lake Villanueva
New Mexico Department of Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains
National monuments and memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Castner Range National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP
National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Rio Grande
National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River
National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston
National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Visitor Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls McKinney Roughs Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddo Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Dolores Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace
State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum
State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

v t e United States National Lakeshores, National Seashores, and National Rivers
National Lakeshores	Apostle Islands Pictured Rocks Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Seashores	Assateague Island Canaveral Cape Cod Cape Hatteras Cape Lookout Cumberland Island Fire Island Gulf Islands Padre Island Point Reyes
National Rivers	Alagnak WR Big South Fork Bluestone NSR Buffalo River Great Egg Harbor NSRR Middle Delaware NSR Mississippi River Missouri NRR Niobrara NSR Obed WSR Ozark Rio Grande WSR Saint Croix NSR Upper Delaware SRR

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Gallery

See also

References

External links