HeadwatersAlbuquerqueBelow Elephant ButteJuárez / El PasoBig BendThe Mouth of the River
1974

Headwaters

Snow melts and gathers together to collect into the river we now call the Rio Grande. Deep green represents the tall forests in which the water begins.
Headwaters

Albuquerque

Water moves, diverted and reconvened, through the most populous city in New Mexico in the year 2021. Gold represents the leaves of the cottonwood trees of the river bosque in the fall.
Albuquerque

Below Elephant Butte

Controlled water emerges from underneath Elephant Butte Dam. Grey represents the concrete of its construction.
Below Elephant Butte

Juárez / El Paso

Water moves through the divided city of Juarez/El Paso while sun-warmed pink rocks and cliffs look on.
Juárez / El Paso

Big Bend

Water from the Rio Conchos combines with the Rio Grande to flow a deep turquoise through the canyons of the riverbend.
Big Bend

The Mouth of the River

1,800 miles from its start, used and reused many times, the river emerges into the ocean, slate blue, beginning a new transformation.
The Mouth of the River