Convention Between the United States and Mexico for the Elimination of the Bancos in the Rio Grande from the Effects of Article II of the Treaty of November 12, 1884
The Banco Convention of 1905, between the United States and Mexico, was negotiated and signed in 1905[1] and ratified by both nations in 1907. It resulted in 247 exchanges of bancos (land surrounded by bends in the river that became segregated by a cutoff often by the rapid erosion of the river channel) between the two nations from 1910 to 1976.[2] Most of them were in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, the Presidio Valley and the El Paso-Juarez Valley. In 1927, the convention was applied to the short international border on the Colorado River.[3]
An example of a banco, created when a meander is cut off by a new, shorter channel, leaving a cut-off section of land surrounded by a U-shaped oxbow lake.Aerial photo of Ringgold Banco, opposite Rio Grande City, Texas; exchanged from the United States to Mexico on September 26, 1949.
In 1884, a further treaty set out to clarify the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Convention of November 12, 1884 established the rules for determining the location of the US-Mexico boundary when the meandering rivers of the international border transferred tracts of land from one bank of the river to the other.[4][5] The treaty stated that if the river changed course gradually through a process of soil erosion, then the boundary should follow the new course of the river. However, a sudden change of course, for example one caused by a flood, would not affect the boundary. Nevertheless, the clarifications established in the treaty of 1884 did not resolve the question of land ownership.[4]
The Convention of March 1, 1889 established the International Boundary Commission (IBC) to apply the rules in the 1884 Convention.[2] It was modified by the Banco Convention of March 20, 1905 to retain the courses of the Rio Grande and the Colorado River as international boundaries in the event of sudden changes.[2]
Because the course of the Rio Grande was not static, to maintain the location of the river as the international boundary presented diplomatic and practical challenges. The river changed course frequently where it flowed through areas of relatively loose alluvial soil, doubling back on itself as it wound its way through the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Especially in times of flooding, tracts of land called "bancos" were created by avulsive changes that cut off entire oxbow-shaped meanders.
The result of these cut-offs was often confusion regarding sovereignty, land ownership, and law enforcement.[4] The purpose of the 1905 convention was to eliminate these bancos from the effects of Article II of the US-Mexico Convention of 1884, to which they otherwise would have been subject, and to establish a more definitive means to settle matters. Any bancos larger than 250 hectares (620 acres) or with a population over 200 were excluded from the 1905 convention.[1]
In 1927 under this convention, the U.S. acquired two bancos from Mexico at the Colorado River border with Arizona. Farmers Banco, covering 583.4 acres (2.361km2), a part of the Cocopah Indian Reservation, was ceded to the U.S. with controversy.[3] Fain Banco, of 259 acres (105ha), also became U.S. soil.
Below is a list of the 247 bancos that were exchanged under the terms of the 1905 convention.[7][8][9][10][11] This information is also available as a kmz file at this location.
Starr County, Texas, 3km above Rio Grande City, Texas, South of R.P. 1, and of "Los Garcias Ranch", southwest of Banco No. 58 Izaguirre, and at the mouth of the San Juan River
Reynosa, Tamaulipas, 1.5km west of the pumping plant at Progreso, Texas, 1.5km north of San Isidro Ranch, Tamaulipas, and 3.5km southwest of R.P. No. 28
Reynosa, Tamaulipas, 2km south of R.P. No. 28, 1.5km southeast of the pumping plant at Progreso, Texas, and 1km northeast of Las Flores Ranch, Tamaulipas
Hudspeth County, Texas, at the mouth of the El Diablo Arroyo and adjacent to Banco No. 318, between R.P. Nos. 30 and 31, to the southwest of McNary, Texas, and southeast of El Porvenir, Chihuahua
situated 1.4km east of the town of Buena Vista, Chih. And opposite the mouth of Macum Arroyo, 20km northwest of Candelaria, Texas (between Fort Quitman and the mouth of the Rio Conchos)
Ojinaga, Chih. 14 1/2km northwest of Ojinaga and 2 1/2km southwest of R.P. No. 22, Ochoa Ranch, Texas; northwest of and adjacent to Banco No. 414, "El Jazmin"
Ojinaga, Chih. 14 1/2km northwest of Ojinaga and 2 1/2km southwest of R.P. No. 22, Ochoa Ranch, Texas, and southeast and adjacent to Banco No. 413, "Ochoa"
Note: For all 247 bancos, aerial images, including orthographic images,[12] provide visible evidence of each location at the stated coordinates. The latitude and longitude coordinates are within the perimeter of each banco and were exactly located, as shown on the maps that were published with the corresponding minutes of the International Boundary and Water Commission, which officially transferred jurisdiction over each banco.
The Rio Grande in the United States or the Río Bravo in Mexico is one of the principal rivers in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio Grande is 1,896 miles (3,051 km), making it the 4th longest river in the United States and in North America by main stem. It originates in south-central Colorado, in the United States, and flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Rio Grande drainage basin (watershed) has an area of 182,200 square miles (472,000 km2); however, the endorheic basins that are adjacent to and within the greater drainage basin of the Rio Grande increase the total drainage-basin area to 336,000 square miles (870,000 km2).
The Gadsden Purchase is a 29,640-square-mile (76,800 km2) region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lands south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande where the U.S. wanted to build a transcontinental railroad along a deep southern route, which the Southern Pacific Railroad later completed in 1881–1883. The purchase also aimed to resolve other border issues.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Spanish Cession, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty, was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico. It settled a standing border dispute between the two countries and was considered a triumph of American diplomacy. It came during the successful Spanish American wars of independence against Spain.
The Chamizal dispute was a border conflict over around 600 acres on the Mexico–United States border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. It was caused by a shift in the Rio Grande, as a survey presented in 1852 marked differences between the bed of the Rio Grande and the present channel of the river. Tensions over the territory during the historic Taft–Díaz summit almost resulted in the attempted assassination of both presidents on October 16, 1909.
The Colorado River dispute is a long-running dispute between the United States and Mexico over water rights to the Colorado River.
The Colorado River Delta is the region where the Colorado River flows into the Gulf of California in eastern Mexicali Municipality in the north of the state of Baja California in northwesternmost Mexico. The delta is part of a larger geologic region called the Salton Trough. Historically, the interaction of the river's flow and the ocean's tide created a dynamic environment, supporting freshwater, brackish, and saltwater species. Within the delta region, the river split into multiple braided channels and formed a complex estuary and terrestrial ecosystems. The use of water upstream and the accompanying reduction of freshwater flow has resulted in the loss of most of the wetlands of the area, as well as drastic changes to the aquatic ecosystems - an ecosystem collapse.
The International Boundary and Water Commission is an international body created by the United States and Mexico in 1889 to apply the rules for determining the location of their international boundary when meandering rivers transferred tracts of land from one bank to the other, as established under the Convention of November 12, 1884.
The Rio Grande has changed course several times in recorded history, leading to a number of border disputes and uncertainties, both international and between individual U.S. states:
The Boundary Treaty of 1970 is a treaty between the United States and Mexico that settled all outstanding boundary disputes and uncertainties related to the Rio Grande border between them.
The New River flows north from near Cerro Prieto, through the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, into the United States through the city of Calexico, California, towards the Salton Sea. The river channel has existed since pre-historic times. The river as known today formed from a levee failure and massive flooding that filled the Salton Sea.
The Mexico–United States border is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. The Mexico–U.S. border is the most frequently crossed border in the world with approximately 350 million documented crossings annually. Illegal crossing of the border to enter the United States has been a top issue in the States and is causing a border crisis. It is one of two international borders that the United States has, the other being the Canada–United States border to the north. It is the tenth-longest border between two countries in the world.
Amistad Reservoir is a reservoir on the Rio Grande at its confluence with the Devils River 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Del Rio, Texas. The lake is bounded by Val Verde County on the United States side of the international border and by the state of Coahuila on the Mexican side of the border; the American shoreline forms the Amistad National Recreation Area. The reservoir was formed in 1969 by the construction of Amistad Dam. The dam and lake are managed jointly by the governments of the United States and Mexico through the International Boundary and Water Commission. The name of the dam and lake is the Spanish word for "friendship". The reservoir is also known as Lake Amistad.
After a 1944 United States Mexico Treaty the Morelos Dam was built in 1950 across the Colorado River. It is located about 1 mile (1.6 km) below the junction of the California border and the Colorado River between the town of Los Algodones, Baja California, in northwestern Mexico and Yuma County, Arizona in the southwestern United States. The eastern half of the dam lies inside United States territory; but Mexico is responsible for all maintenance. The dam allows Mexico to divert its allotted water from the Colorado River to highly developed crop lands in the Mexicali, Mexico Valley. The Morelos Dam is the final dam on the Colorado River. It is run by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC).
The United States of America was formed after thirteen British colonies in North America declared independence from the British Empire on July 4, 1776. In the Lee Resolution, passed by the Second Continental Congress two days prior, the colonies resolved that they were free and independent states. The union was formalized in the Articles of Confederation, which came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 states. Their independence was recognized by Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which concluded the American Revolutionary War. This effectively doubled the size of the colonies, now able to stretch west past the Proclamation Line to the Mississippi River. This land was organized into territories and then states, though there remained some conflict with the sea-to-sea grants claimed by some of the original colonies. In time, these grants were ceded to the federal government.
Amistad Dam is a major embankment dam across the Rio Grande between Texas, United States, and Coahuila, Mexico. Built to provide irrigation water storage, flood control, and hydropower generation, it is the largest dam along the international boundary reach of the Rio Grande. The dam is over 6 miles (9.7 km) long, lies mostly on the Mexican side of the border, and forms Amistad Reservoir. It supplies water for irrigation in the Rio Grande Valley, 574 miles (924 km) upstream of the Rio Grande's mouth on the Gulf of Mexico at Brownsville, Texas/Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The American Dam, or American Diversion Dam, is a diversion dam on the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, that divides the river water between Mexico and the U.S. It is about 140 feet (43 m) north of the point where the west bank of the river enters Mexico, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the business center. The dam is operated by the International Boundary and Water Commission. It started operation in 1938.
The International Diversion Dam is a diversion dam on the Rio Grande in Ciudad Juárez. The dam is operated by the International Boundary and Water Commission, and diverts water into the Acequia Madre for use in irrigation in Mexico. Water is diverted under the terms of the 1906 treaty on usage of Rio Grande water between the United States and Mexico.
The Riverside Diversion Dam was a diversion dam on the Rio Grande to the southeast of El Paso, Texas. The dam was owned by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, and diverted water into the Riverside Canal for use in irrigation in the El Paso Valley. The dam became obsolete with completion of a cement-lined canal carrying water from the upstream American Diversion Dam to the head of the canal. It was partially removed in 2003.
Fronton Island is an uninhabited island in the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas.
1 2 Decisions of the Department of the Interior in cases relating to the public lands: 1927-1954. United States. Department of the Interior. Washington. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office. pp.25, 337. hdl:2027/mdp.39015084910804.
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