Brazos
Brazos is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 31.72°, -97.26°
About Brazos
The Brazos River ( BRAZ-əs, Spanish: [ˈbɾasos]), called the Río de los Brazos de Dios (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at 1,280 miles (2,060 km) from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Roosevelt County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a 45,000-square-mile (116,000 km2) drainage basin.
The river is closely associated with Texas history, particularly the Austin settlement and Texas Revolution eras. Today major Texas institutions such as Texas Tech University, Baylor University, and Texas A&M University are located close to the river's basin, as are parts of metropolitan Houston.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Brazos River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Brazos in Depth
Geography
The Brazos proper begins at the confluence of the Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork, two tributaries of the Upper Brazos that rise on the high plains of the Llano Estacado, flowing 840 miles (1,350 km) southeast through the center of Texas. Another major tributary of the Upper Brazos is the Clear Fork Brazos River, which passes by Abilene and joins the main river near Graham. Important tributaries of the Lower Brazos include the Paluxy River, the Bosque River, the Little River, Yegua Creek, the Nolan River, the Leon River, the San Gabriel River, the Lampasas River, and the Navasota River.
History
It is unclear when the river was first named by European explorers, since it was often confused with the Colorado River not far to the south, but it was certainly seen by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Later Spanish accounts call it Los Brazos de Dios (the arms of God), for which name several different explanations were given, all involving it being the first water to be found by desperately thirsty parties.
The lower river valley of the Brazos River became one of the major Anglo-American settlement sites in Texas during the early 19th century. One of the first English-speaking colonies along the Brazos was founded by Stephen F. Austin at San Felipe de Austin in 1824.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Brazos River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Brazos: Key Facts
| Length | 1,352 km |
|---|---|
| Average discharge | 238 m³/s |
| Drainage basin | 116,000 km² |
| Source | Salt Fork Brazos River |
| Mouth | Gulf of Mexico |
| Drainage system | Brazos River basin |
| Tributaries | Paluxy River, Clear Fork Brazos River, Keechi Creek, Little River, Mill Creek, Yegua Creek, Bosque River, Navasota River |
Facts from Wikidata Q903306 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Brazos: Quick Answers
- Where is Brazos?
- Brazos is located in United States, at 31.7239° N, 97.2601° W.
- Are there dams on the Brazos?
- No dam on the Brazos is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.