| El Paso-Juárez Metropolitan Area | |
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| — Metropolitan Area — | |
| Nickname(s): Paso del Norte | |
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El Paso-Juárez Metropolitan Area
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States, Mexico |
| States | Texas, Chihuahua, New Mexico |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2.1 million |
| Time zone | Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-6) |
El Paso–Juárez, also known as Juárez-El Paso, the Borderplex or Paso del Norte, is a binational metropolitan area, or conurbation, on the border between Mexico and the United States.[1] The region is centered on two large cities: Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, USA. Additionally, nearby Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA is sometimes included as part of the region, referred to as El Paso–Juárez-Las Cruces or El Paso–Juárez-Southern New Mexico.[2] At more than 2.3 million people this binational region is second largest metropolitan area on the United States - Mexico border.[3][4][5][6]
This region is commonly subdivided into the Juárez Metropolitan Area (Zona Metropolitana de Juárez) and Greater El Paso, as well as Greater Las Cruces. These sub-regions are typically divided by state borders: Chihuahua, Texas, and New Mexico.
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Juárez is by far the largest city in the region (population 1,400,891 as of 2005). El Paso is the next largest (613,190 as of 2008), and Las Cruces is the third largest (91,865 as of 2008).[7][8]
Some of the major suburbs are Fabens, Texas; Puerto de Anapra, Chihuahua; San Elizario, Texas; Socorro, Texas; Sunland Park, New Mexico.[9] Additionally there are many smaller communities in the area including Anthony, New Mexico; Anthony, Texas; Canutillo, Texas; Chaparral, New Mexico; Horizon City, Texas; Mesilla, New Mexico; Santa Teresa, New Mexico; University Park, New Mexico; Vado, New Mexico; and Westway, Texas.[10]
The Franklin Mountains region has had human settlement for thousands of years, as evidenced by Folsom points from hunter-gatherers found at Hueco Tanks.[11] The earliest known cultures in the region were maize farmers. At the time of the arrival of the Spanish the Manso, Suma, and Jumano tribes populated the area and today form the basis of the Mestizo culture in the area. The Mescalero Apache roamed the region as well.
Spanish explorer Don Juan de Oñate was the first European explorer to arrive at the Rio Grande near modern Juárez and El Paso in 1598, celebrating Thanksgiving Mass there on April 30, 1598 (several decades before the Pilgrims' Thanksgiving).[12] El Paso del Norte (the present day Ciudad Juárez), was founded on the south bank of the Río Bravo del Norte, (Rio Grande) in 1659 by Spanish conquistadors. The Mission of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe became its first major settlement. Being a grassland then, agriculture flourished and vineyards and fruits constituted the bulk of the regional production. The Spanish Crown and the local authorities of El Paso del Norte had made several land concessions to bring agricultural production to the northern bank of the river in present day El Paso. However, the Apaches dissuaded settlement and development across the river. The water provided a natural defense against them.
El Paso became the southernmost locality of the Provincia de Nuevo Mexico (modern New Mexico). It remained largest city in New Mexico until its north side was ceded to the US in 1850. It communicated with Santa Fe and Mexico City by the Royal Road. American spies, traders and fur trappers visited the area since 1804 and some intermarried with the area's Hispanic elite.[13] Although there was no combat in the region during the Mexican War of Independence, El Paso del Norte experienced the negative effects it had on its wine trade.
The Texas Revolution (1836) was not felt in the region as the area was never considered part of Texas until 1848. Given the blurry reclamations of the Texas Republic that wanted a chunk of the Santa Fe trade, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo effectively made the settlements on the north bank of the river a formal American settlement, separate from Old El Paso del Norte on the Mexican side.[13] The present Texas-New Mexico boundary placing El Paso on the Texas side was drawn in the Compromise of 1850.[14]
The communities on both sides of the border continued to function, in large part, as a single community. The United States Senate fixed a boundary between Texas and New Mexico at the thirty-second parallel, thus largely ignoring history and topography. A military post called The Post opposite El Paso (meaning opposite El Paso del Norte, across the Rio Grande) was established in 1854. Further west, a settlement on Coons' Rancho called Franklin became the nucleus of the future El Paso, Texas. A year later pioneer Anson Mills completed his plan of the town, calling it El Paso and the town was incorporated in 1873.[15] During the French intervention in Mexico (1862–1867), El Paso del Norte served as a temporary stop for republican forces of rebel leader Benito Juárez until he established his government-in-exile in Chihuahua. In 1888, El Paso del Norte was renamed in honor of Juárez.
In the later 19th century the population in the region began to grow rapidly. With the arrival of the Southern Pacific, Texas and Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads in 1881, trade with the rest of the U.S. increased substantially. The area attracted newcomers ranging from businessmen and priests, to gunfighters and prostitutes. In the U.S. El Paso became known as the "Six Shooter Capital" because of its lawlessness.[15] Prostitution and gambling flourished. During World War I, the U.S. Department of the Army pressured El Paso authorities to crack down on vice, creating a tourist boom in Juárez whose vice businesses continued to thrive.
Mining and other industries gradually developed in the area. The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of major business development in the city partially enabled by Prohibition era bootlegging with the area becoming a significant port of entry for liquor.[15] The Depression era hit the region hard and population declined through the end of World War II. Following the war, military expansion in the area as well as oil discoveries in the Texas Permian Basin helped spur redevelopment in the mid 1900s. Disparities in wages and cost of living between the U.S. and Mexico helped encourage many businesses to establish manufacturing operations in Mexico during the mid 20th century, thus making El Paso–Juárez an attractive location for manufacturing. The signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) helped spur this trend even further.
Typical elevation in the El Paso–Juárez region is approximately 4,000 feet (1,200 m) though the Franklin Mountains which run through the region have peaks rising much higher. North Franklin Peak, for example, rises to 7,192 feet (2,192 m).[16]
The most well-known feature of the area is the Rio Grande which divides the U.S. from Mexico. The river flows through the Rio Grande Rift, which passes around the southern end of the Franklin Mountains. West of Juárez and El Paso the river turns away from the border connecting these cities with Las Cruces.
Mt. Cristo Rey, a volcanic peak (an example of a pluton) rises within the Rio Grande Rift just to the west of El Paso on the New Mexico side of the Rio Grande River. Other volcanic features include Kilbourne hole and Hunt's hole, which are Maar volcanic craters 30 miles (50 km) west of the Franklin Mountains.
The area lies in the Chihuahuan Desert, which itself is the easternmost section of the Basin and Range Region.
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The area has an arid climate because it is located in the Chihuahuan desert. Seasons are less well defined than many areas in the United States. The area experiences hot summers, cool winters and a mild spring and fall. In Juárez the average high is 31 °C (88 °F) with lows of 17 °C (63 °F). The winter high is 14 °C (57 °F) with lows of 1 °C (34 °F).[17] Because of the high altitude the region is cooler than many desert areas in Mexico and the American Southwest. Rainfall is very scarce but it is more prominent in the summer months. Snowfall is not a rare event—it normally snows once or twice every winter.
El Paso–Juárez is a major center for manufacturing and international trade. It is the largest port of entry on the U.S./Mexico border.[18] The region is also the second most important trade point on the border and the 16th largest trading center in the U.S.[19][20] In 2000 approximately US$33 billion dollars in trade took place in the region.[19]
As of 2010[update] the region holds offices for more than 70 Fortune 500 companies.[21] It is also home to more than 320 manufacturing plants (those in Juárez are commonly referred to as maquiladoras) and more than 1,100 manufacturing operations total.[6][19] The largest sectors of manufacturing are automobiles and automobile components, and consumer electronic components.[19] Apparel and textile manufacturing, though, are important sectors as well, particularly north of the border.[21] The area employs approximately 262,000 people in manufacturing with 85% of those in Juárez.[6] Many of the workers in Juárez, however, live in the United States.[21]
An important pillar of the economy of El Paso has been Fort Bliss and Biggs Army Airfield. Since frontier days military spending, directly and indirectly, has provided a significant source of money to El Paso and to the region as a whole. As of 2010[update] the economic impact of Fort Bliss is estimated at more than US$1 billion.[21] Fort Bliss is currently planning a US$4.5 billion expansion that will substantially impact the area economy.[6]
Call centers are additionally major employers in El Paso and neighboring communities in the U.S.[21]
A recent development that is expected to create new economic opportunities in the area is the planned creation of a full medical school in El Paso as part of the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center.[6][22]
Though the national boundaries are an important point of separation, efforts at regional planning and economic integration exist in the local governments and the business communities. Regional business advocacy groups such as El Paso Regional Economic Development Corporation and World Trade Center El Paso/Juárez serve to attract businesses to the area and market its benefits.[23] Efforts at community and environmental cooperation including the Paso del Norte Clean Cities Coalition exist as well.[24] As of 2009[update] proposals are being discussed at the regional level to create passenger rail systems connecting El Paso with Juárez.[25]
The largest universities in the region are the University of Texas at El Paso and the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez). These universities have strong ties to each other (as well as to the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua) with formal programs of exchange for scholars and students.[26] New Mexico State University in Las Cruces is an additional major university in the area.
Other area colleges include Universidad Tecnológica de Ciudad Juárez (Technological University of Ciudad Juárez), Western Technical College-El Paso, and Vista College (El Paso and Las Cruces). El Paso Community College and Doña Ana Community College provide supplemental higher-education opportunities for students in the region.
Until the 1920s and 1930s the communities of Juárez and El Paso enjoyed largely unfettered access to one another maintaining a sense of unity. Prohibition and World War II brought about more strict enforcement of the border in this region making access between the communities more difficult. Nevertheless, the communities have continued to share ethnic and cultural bonds particularly as economic integration in the later 20th century has re-opened much of the access between the communities. Even today the cities still see themselves as a single, closely tied community.[27]
The violence in Juárez that erupted in 2008–2009 has forced the U.S. to tighten its policies regarding allowing Juárez residents access to El Paso. Tourists, workers, and students who were once allowed regular access across the border have been restricted to much tighter schedules for travel.[28]
The area is home to numerous parks and venues for outdoor recreation. The 24,000-acre (9,700 ha) Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso is the largest urban park in the United States.[29] Other urban parks in the area include Ascarate Park (El Paso), Parque Central (Juárez), Parque Chamizal (Juárez), Preciado Park (Las Cruces), and Rio Bosque Park (Socorro, TX).
Outside the metropolitan area there are major state and national parks in the vicinity. The most well-known of these is Big Bend National Park, which is adjacent to Big Bend Ranch State Park. Closer to the cities are Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Lincoln National Forest, and Gila National Forest.
Violent crime has been an increasingly serious issue in the region since the 1990s. Though violent crime on the U.S. side of the border has not grown severely, murders in Juárez related to the drug cartels began to grow rapidly after 2000. In 2008, officials reported more than 5,400 drug-related murders in Mexico, many in and near Juárez.[30][31] On 20 February 2009, the U.S. State Department announced in an updated travel alert that "Mexican authorities report that more than 1,800 people have been killed in the city since January 2008."[32] CNN listed the city among the ten most dangerous in the world in 2010.[33] The deteriorating situation caused drastic changes in daily life for citizens in Juárez after 2008. As of 2010[update] the situation continues to be an area of intense focus for the governments of Mexico and the U.S.
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