Drive Along the Border and Sabal Palm

Drive Along the Border

Sabal Palm

July 20, 2015

Driving along the border, we see the levees that have been built near the Rio Grande River to control its flow.  

                          

At Sabal Palm we were able to get on a deck to observe the Rio Grande River.  The Rio Grande River flows to the Outlet Rio Grande Sub Watershed and continues to the Outlet Rio Grande Watershed.  It then flows to the Lower Rio Grande River Sub Basin.  Finally it empties into the Rio Grande River Basin.

                    

    

We further learned that Mr. Rabb built the plantation next to the Rio Grande River.  He wanted everyone to see his house from the river and he wanted to see the boats passing by.  However; he did not know that with each rainy season the direction of the river changed.  Since the river was the marker to determine the border, the border              changed every time the river changed direction.  The river continued to change                
   directions and eventually did not flow in front of the Rabb house.  He decided to dig a
   canal to have water go into the area where the river had been before.  The
   Rio Grande River was later controlled with dams and levees and geographic markers
   were set to have a definite and never changing border.

Sabal Palm is on the Bahia Grande-Brownsville Ship Channel Sub Watershed.  It continues to flow to the Brownsville Ship Channel Watershed then it flows into the South Laguna Madre River Sub Basin and empties into the Nueces-Rio Grande Coastal Basin River Basin.