Rio Grande
The modern Rio Grande River empties into the western Gulf of Mexico and marks the border between the United States and Mexico. The study area for this project is the continental shelf off of South Texas between 26 and 27 degrees north latitude. The region is characterized by a low-latitude, semiarid, steppe climate with an average annual rainfall of 25 to 30 inches, and prevailing southeast winds. The mean annual temperature is 72¬ƒ F. A mean spring range of 0.42 m characterizes the diurnal tide of the area, and the tidal range is less than 0.6 m. The Rio Grande drains an area in excess of 368,820 km2. The continental shelf extends to the -150 m isobath, and the average shelf width is 88 km. See Banfield and Anderson (2004) for greater detail.
Highstand Systems Tract
Lowstand Systems Tract
Transgressive Systems Tract
Chronostratigraphy
Time Structure Maps
Evolution
Climate
Comments, questions? Contact us at
gulf@gulf.rice.edu.