a city in southeastern Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Population, 116,800 (1970, including suburbs). Rio Grande has a railroad station. The city is a port at the entrance of Lagoa dos Patos, which was erroneously thought to be a large river by the Portuguese (hence the city’s name). Its freight turnover totaled 3.1 million tons in 1971. Rice, meat products, wool, and rawhide are exported. The food-processing industry is represented by beer brewing and meat and fish canning. Other industries include the tobacco, leather-and-foot-wear, and chemical industries. Rio Grande was founded in 1737.
(in Mexico, Río Bravo del Norte), a river in southwestern North America, in the USA and Mexico. It is 2,880 km long and drains an area of 570,000 sq km. The river originates in the San Juan Mountains of the Rocky Mountains system. It flows primarily across dry plateaus, sometimes passing through narrow canyons, and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. From its mouth to El Paso, the river forms the boundary between the USA and Mexico.
The Rio Grande is at its highest level from September through November, when there is heavy flooding. The river dries up almost completely in some sections during the summer. It has a mean flow rate of 570 cu m per sec. No more than 3 percent of the flow reaches the mouth because the water is used for irrigation. The USA and Mexico have signed an agreement on the use of the Rio Grande for irrigation and power engineering; the Elephant Butte Reservoir, which is 150 km above El Paso, and the Falcón Reservoir, which is 110 km below Laredo, have been constructed on the river. Albuquerque, El Paso, and Laredo are located on the Rio Grande in the USA, and Ciudad Juárez, and Neuvo Laredo are located on the river in Mexico.