Rio Grande Valley

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, 2012, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of the Metropolitan Area know as the Rio Grande Valley at 1,305,782. 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, Raymondville, Rio Grande City and Pharr. As any major Metropolitan Area the Rio Grande Valley is made up of many different cities, towns and communities. It is our desire to recognize each of these cities, towns and communities that makeup the Valley. As we list attractions, events and parks located in the Rio Grande Valley we include each of the communities that help to make it what it is today and in the future as it grows.