Rio Grande by A. Molles The Rio Grande and Middle Rio Grande basins
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General Description

The Middle Rio Grande is a subset of the Rio Grande, a river which extends from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. The Middle Rio Grande runs through New Mexico. It is approximately 180 miles, extending from the Otowi river flow gage above Cochiti Dam to Elephant Butte Reservoir. The Middle Rio Grande is comprised of 5 reaches: Cochiti, Upper Angostura, Lower Angostura, Isleta, and San Acacia.

The following bullet points highlight the promising features and constraints of the Middle Rio Grande Basin, which provide opportunities and challenges for projects conducted in the basin. Individual reaches vary to different degrees with respect to this general listing of promising features and constraints. The list below and other similar lists were developed by the Bosque Hydrology Group.

Promising Features
cottonwood leaf Good seed source for native vegetation recruitment.
cottonwood leaf Intact natural shape to the natural hydrograph.
cottonwood leaf Reservoir operation holds promise to time spring run-off to period of native seed dispersal.

Constraints
cottonwood leaf Invasion by exotic riparian tree species: salt cedar and Russian olive.
cottonwood leaf Bank stabilization by jetty jacks and exotic species.
cottonwood leaf Loss of variability in peak river flows.
cottonwood leaf Reduction of spring run-off peak river flow.
cottonwood leaf Narrowing of channel "width to depth" ratios as compared to historic measurements.
cottonwood leaf Sediment starvation in the northern part of the reach due to erosion of the river channel and retention by dams. Aggradation and an inability to mobilize sediment in the southern part of the reach.


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