Texas - El Paso

El Paso (/ɛl ˈpæsoʊ/; Spanish: [el ˈpaso] "the pass") is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County in the far western part of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the United States, the sixth-largest city in Texas, and the second-largest city in the Southwest behind Phoenix, Arizona. El Paso ranks 5th in the nation with the largest proportion of Hispanic population. Its metropolitan statistical area covers all of El Paso and Hudspeth counties in Texas, and had a population of 843,725 in 2019.

 

El Paso stands on the Rio Grande across the Mexico–United States border from Ciudad Juárez, the most-populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua with over 1.4 million people. Las Cruces, in the neighboring U.S. state of New Mexico, has a population of 215,579. On the U.S. side, the El Paso metropolitan area forms part of the larger El Paso-Las Cruces combined statistical area, with a population of 1,060,397.

 

These three cities form a combined international metropolitan area sometimes referred to as the Paso del Norte or the Borderplex. The region of 2.5 million people constitutes the largest bilingual and binational work force in the Western Hemisphere.

 

The city is home to three publicly traded companies, and former Western Refining, now Marathon Petroleum, as well as home to the Medical Center of the Americas, the only medical research and care provider complex in West Texas and Southern New Mexico, and the University of Texas at El Paso, the city's primary university. The city hosts the annual Sun Bowl college football postseason game, the second-oldest bowl game in the country.

 

El Paso has a strong federal and military presence. William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Biggs Army Airfield, and Fort Bliss are located in the area. Fort Bliss is one of the largest military complexes of the United States Army and the second largest training area in the United States behind nearby White Sands Missile Range. The fort is headquartered in El Paso but a large part of the training area is in New Mexico.[16] Also headquartered in El Paso are the Drug Enforcement Administration domestic field division 7, El Paso Intelligence Center, Joint Task Force North, United States Border Patrol El Paso Sector, and U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Group.

 

El Paso is a five-time All-America City Award winner, winning in 1969, 2010, 2018, 2020, and 2021, and Congressional Quarterly ranked it in the top-three safest large cities in the United States between 1997 and 2014, including holding the title of safest city between 2011 and 2014.

 

Geography

 

El Paso is located at the intersection of three states (Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua) and two countries (the U.S. and Mexico). It is the only major Texas city on Mountain Time. Ciudad Juarez was once in Central Time,[44] but both cities are now on Mountain Time.

 

El Paso is closer to the capital cities of four other states – Phoenix, Arizona (345 miles (555 km) away); Santa Fe, New Mexico (273 miles (439 km) away); Ciudad Chihuahua, Chihuahua, (218 miles (351 km) away), and Hermosillo, Sonora (325 miles (523 km) away) – than it is to the capital of its own state, Austin (528 miles (850 km) away). It is closer to Los Angeles, California (700 miles (1,100 km) away) than it is to Orange (858 miles (1,381 km) away), the easternmost town in the state.

 

El Paso is located within the Chihuahuan Desert, the easternmost section of the Basin and Range Region. The Franklin Mountains extend into El Paso from the north and nearly divide the city into two sections; the west side forms the beginnings of the Mesilla Valley, and the east side expands into the desert and lower valley. They connect in the central business district at the southern end of the mountain range.

 

The city's elevation is 3,800 ft (1,200 m) above sea level. North Franklin Mountain is the highest peak in the city at 7,192 ft (2,192 m) above sea level. The peak can be seen from 60 mi (100 km) in all directions. Additionally, this mountain range is home to the famous natural red-clay formation, the Thunderbird, from which the local Coronado High School gets its mascot's name. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 256.3 sq mi (663.7 km2).

 

The 24,000-acre (9,700 ha) Franklin Mountains State Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States, lies entirely in El Paso, extending from the north and dividing the city into several sections along with Fort Bliss and El Paso International Airport.

 

The Rio Grande Rift, which passes around the southern end of the Franklin Mountains, is where the Rio Grande flows. The river defines the border between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez to the south and west until the river turns north of the border with Mexico, separating El Paso from Doña Ana County, New Mexico. Mt. Cristo Rey, 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. Nearby volcanic features include Kilbourne Hole and Hunt's Hole, which are Maar volcanic craters 30 miles (50 km) west of the Franklin Mountains.

 

Climate

 

El Paso has a transitional climate between cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) and hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) featuring hot summers, with little humidity, and cool to mild dry winters. Rainfall averages 8.8 in (220 mm) per year, much of which occurs from June through September, and is predominantly caused by the North American Monsoon. During this period, southerly and southeasterly winds carry moisture from the Pacific, the Gulf of California, and the Gulf of Mexico into the region. When this moisture moves into the El Paso area and places to the southwest, orographic lift from the mountains, combined with strong daytime heating, causes thunderstorms, some severe enough to produce flash flooding and hail, across the region.

 

The sun shines 302 days per year on average in El Paso, 83% of daylight hours, according to the National Weather Service; from this, the city is nicknamed "The Sun City". Due to its arid, windy climate, El Paso often experiences sand and dust storms during the dry season, particularly during the springtime between March and early May. With an average wind speed often exceeding 30 mph (50 km/h) and gusts that have been measured at over 75 mph (120 km/h), these wind storms kick up large amounts of sand and dust from the desert, causing loss of visibility.

 

El Paso and the nearby mountains also receive snow. Weather systems have produced over 1 ft (30 cm) of snow on several occasions. In the 1982–1983 winter season, three major snowstorms produced record seasonal snowfall. On December 25–26, 1982, 6.0 in (15 cm) of snow fell, producing a white Christmas for the city. This was followed by another 7.0 in (18 cm) on December 30–31, 1982. On April 4–7, 1983, 16.5 in (42 cm) of snow fell on El Paso, bringing the seasonal total to nearly 30 in (76 cm). On December 13–14, 1987, a record storm dumped over 22 in (56 cm) of snow on El Paso, and two weeks later (December 25–26), another 3 in (7.6 cm) fell, bringing the monthly total for December 1987 to an all-time record high of 25.9 in (66 cm) of snow. The average annual snowfall for the city varies widely between different neighborhoods at different elevations, but is 2.6 in (6.6 cm) at the airport (but with a median of 0, meaning most years see no snow at all). Snow is most rare around Ysleta and the eastern valley area, which usually include large numbers of palm trees; in the higher neighborhoods, palm trees are more vulnerable to snow and cold snaps and are often seen with brown, frost-damaged fronds.

 

One example of El Paso's varying climate at its most extreme was the damaging winter storm of early February 2011, which caused closures of schools, businesses, and City Hall. The snow, which was light, stopped after about a day, but during the ensuing cold episode, municipal utilities went into a crisis. The high temperature on February 2, 2011, was 15 °F (−9 °C), the lowest daily maximum on record. In addition, the low temperature on February 3 was 1 °F (−17 °C), breaking the 5 °F (−15 °C) monthly record low set during the cold wave of 1899. Loss of desert vegetation, such as Mexican/California palm trees, oleanders, and iceplants to the cold weather was one of the results. Two local power plants failed, forcing El Paso Electric to institute rolling blackouts over several days, and electric wires were broken, causing localised blackouts. Many water utility pipes froze, causing areas of the city to be without water for several days.

 

Monthly means range from 46.1 °F (7.8 °C) in December to 84.4 °F (29.1 °C) in July, but high temperatures typically peak in June before the monsoon arrives, while daily low temperatures typically peak in July or early August with the higher humidity the monsoon brings (translating to warmer nights). On average, 42 night lows are at or below freezing, with 118 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs and 28 days of 100 °F (38 °C)+ highs annually; extremely rarely do temperatures stay below the freezing mark all day. The city's record high is 114 °F (46 °C) on June 30, 1994, and its record low is −8 °F (−22 °C) on January 11, 1962; the highest daily minimum was 85 °F (29 °C) on July 1 and 3, 1994, with weather records for the area maintained by the National Weather Service since 1879.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

El Paso ist die sechstgrößte Stadt in Texas und der Verwaltungssitz des gleichnamigen El Paso County. In der Statistik des US Census Bureau steht El Paso in der Liste der US-amerikanischen Großstädte an 19. Stelle. Die Handels-, Universitäts- und Garnisonsstadt im äußersten Westen von Texas an der Grenze zu New Mexico und Mexiko hatte 2018 geschätzte 682.669 Einwohner.

 

Mit umliegenden Gemeinden und ihrer am südlichen Ufer des Rio Grande gelegenen mexikanischen Schwesterstadt Ciudad Juárez mit ihren rund 1,3 Mio. Einwohnern bildet sie einen Metropolkomplex von etwa 2,0 Mio. Einwohnern.

 

El Paso ist Sitz des Bistums El Paso.

 

Lage

 

El Paso liegt 1078 km nordwestlich von Houston, 909 km südwestlich von Dallas und 1142 km südlich von Denver an den südlichsten Ausläufern der Rocky Mountains – den Franklin Mountains. Die Stadt liegt im westlichsten Zipfel von Texas und somit an den Grenzen zu Mexiko und zum US-Bundesstaat New Mexico. Der Rio Grande umfließt El Paso aus Nordnordwest kommend an Süd- und Südostseite und bildet hier und im weiteren Verlauf die Grenze zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten und dem mexikanischen Bundesstaat Chihuahua.

 

Klima

 

Durch die Lage inmitten der Chihuahua-Wüste mit heißem, trockenem Klima genießt El Paso heiße Sommer mit geringen Niederschlägen und milde Winter. Die Höchsttemperaturen erreichen in der Hochsommerperiode im Juni und Juli Werte um 40 °C. Die historische Höchsttemperatur wurde 1995 mit 45,5 °C erreicht.

 

Von Juli bis September kennt die Stadt eine anhaltende Wetterperiode, in der durch öfter auftretende teils heftige Sommergewitter signifikante Regenmengen fallen können. Das ist auch die Zeit, in der die Stadt den Großteil ihrer jährlichen durchschnittlichen Niederschlagsmenge von rund 220 mm verzeichnet.

 

Die Winterperiode ist relativ mild mit Temperaturen, die nur selten unter den Gefrierpunkt fallen. Schnee ist selten zu beobachten, trotzdem wurden in der Vergangenheit schon ergiebige Schneefälle verzeichnet, was in der Regel zu teilweise erheblichen Behinderungen in der Stadt führt.

 

Von den hohen Temperaturen im Sommer abgesehen sind extreme Wetterphänomene wie zum Beispiel Tornados in der Gegend nahezu unbekannt. El Paso wird bei starken Regenfällen jedoch gelegentlich von lokalen Überschwemmungen einzelner Stadtteile betroffen. Hier wurde durch Bau entsprechender Regenwasserrückhaltebecken und Drainagekanäle Abhilfe geschaffen. Durch die wüstenähnlichen Verhältnisse (karge Bodenbedeckung mit kurzem Strauchbewuchs, Wassermangel durch wenig Niederschlag) außerhalb der besiedelten Bereiche kommt es bei höheren Windgeschwindigkeiten leicht zu vereinzelten Staub- und Sandstürmen.

 

Insgesamt gesehen wird das Klima El Pasos von Bevölkerung und Besuchern überwiegend als angenehm betrachtet. Über das Jahr verzeichnet die Stadt durchschnittlich 302 Sonnentage, woraus El Paso seinen Beinamen „Sun City“ bezieht.

 

Bevölkerung

 

Mit über 70 % stellen die Hispanics den größten Anteil der Bevölkerung El Pasos. Wie in weiten Teilen des Südwestens der Vereinigten Staaten (und Florida) stellt somit eine USA-weite ethnische Minderheit hier die Mehrheit der Bevölkerung. In weiten Bereichen von Wirtschaft und Verwaltung ist Zweisprachigkeit wichtiges Einstellungskriterium.

 

Die Stadt erlebt derzeit aufgrund der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, seiner Lage als Knotenpunkt für Waren- und Personenverkehr an der Grenze zu Mexiko und dem Ausbau des Militärstandorts Fort Bliss und Biggs Army Airfield einen rasanten Anstieg der Bevölkerung.

 

(Wikipedia)

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