The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South 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 containing many oxbow lakes or resacas formed from pinched-off meanders in earlier courses of the Rio Grande. Early 20th-century land developers, attempting to capitalize on unclaimed land, utilized the name "Magic Valley" to attract settlers and appeal to investors. The Rio Grande Valley is also called "El Valle", the Spanish translation of "the valley", by those who live there. The residents of the Rio Grande Valley occasionally refer to the area as "El Magico Valle del Rio Grande" ("The Magical Valley of the Rio Grande"), and also simply by the initials "RGV."
The region is made up of four counties: Starr County, Hidalgo County, Willacy County, and Cameron County. As of January 1, 2008, the Texas State Data Center estimated the population of the Rio Grande Valley at 1,138,872. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008, 86 percent of Cameron County, 90 percent of Hidalgo County, 97 percent of Starr County, and 86 percent of Willacy County are Hispanic.
The largest city is Brownsville (Cameron County), followed by McAllen (Hidalgo County). Other major cities include Edinburg, Mission, Harlingen, and Pharr.
Read more about Rio Grande Valley: Tourism, People of Historical Interest, Places of Historical Interest, Economy, Education
Famous quotes containing the words rio grande, rio and/or valley:
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—Anna Julia Cooper (1859–1964)
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—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)
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—Sean O’Casey (1884–1964)