The Rio Grande in the United States or the Río Bravo in Mexico, also known as P’osoge in Tewa and Tó Ba’áadi in Navajo, 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, making it the 4th longest river in the United States and in North America by main stem. It originates …The Rio Grande in the United States or the Río Bravo in Mexico, also known as P’osoge in Tewa and Tó Ba’áadi in Navajo, 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, 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 has an area of 182,200 square miles ; 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.