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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
The largest city is Brownsville (Cameron County), followed by McAllen (Hidalgo County). Other major cities include Harlingen, Mission, Edinburg, and Pharr.[4]
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The Valley encompasses several landmarks that attract tourists, and is primarily known for South Padre Island. Popular destinations include Port Isabel Lighthouse, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, and Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. The Valley is a popular waypoint for tourists seeking to visit Mexico. Popular destinations across the border include: Matamoros, Nuevo Progreso, Río Bravo, and Reynosa, all located in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The Valley also attracts large numbers of wealthy tourists from the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Distrito Federal, and Tamaulipas.
Cesar Aguilar, UTPA SGA President 2009 A list of notable people who were born, lived, or died in the Rio Grande Valley includes:
The Brownsville Raid, the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, the construction of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle,[6] and the Pharr police riots[7] all took place in The Rio Grande Valley.
The Valley is reliant on agribusiness and tourism. Cotton, sorghum, maize, and sugarcane are its leading crops, and the region is the center of citrus production and the most important area of vegetable production in the State of Texas. Over the last several decades, the emergence of maquiladoras (factories or fabrication plants) has caused a surge of industrial development along the border, while international bridges have allowed Mexican nationals to shop, sell and do business in the border cities along the Rio Grande River. The geographic inclusion of South Padre Island also drives tourism, particularly during the Spring Break season, during which South Padre Island becomes reminiscent of New Orleans during Mardi Gras. There is a substantial health-care industry with major hospitals and many clinics and private practices in Brownsville, Harlingen and McAllen.
Texas is the third largest producer of citrus fruit in United States, the majority of which is grown in the Rio Grande Valley. Grapefruit make up over 70% of the Valley citrus crop, which also includes orange, watermelon, tangerine, tangelo and Meyer lemon production each Winter.[8]
There are six professional sports teams that play in the Rio Grande Valley: the Rio Grande Valley Whitewings (baseball), the Edinburg Roadrunners (baseball), the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (ice hockey), the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (basketball), the Rio Grande Valley Bravos (soccer), and the Rio Grande Valley Magic (indoor football).
Colleges and Universities in the Rio Grande Valley include:
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