<Ul> <Li> Tó Baʼáadi, Navajo, "Female River" (the direction south is female in Navajo cosmology) </Li> </Ul> <Li> Tó Baʼáadi, Navajo, "Female River" (the direction south is female in Navajo cosmology) </Li> <P> Rio del Norte was most commonly used for the upper Rio Grande (roughly, within the present - day borders of New Mexico) from Spanish colonial times to the end of the Mexican period in the mid-19th century . This use was first documented by the Spanish in 1582 . Early American settlers in South Texas began to use the modern' English' name Rio Grande . By the late 19th century, in the United States, the name Rio Grande had become standard in being applied to the entire river, from Colorado to the sea . </P> <P> By 1602, Río Bravo had become the standard Spanish name for the lower river, below its confluence with the Rio Conchos . </P>

What is the widest part of the rio grande river