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About El Paso
El Paso is the largest American city on the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border.
The 2001 estimated population of El Paso County is 688,039. The city's population is 563,662 making it the fifth largest city in the state and 23rd
largest in the United States.
El Paso lies immediately north of the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez - estimated population, 1.2 million. Juarez is the 5th largest city in the Republic
of Mexico.
From its beginning 400 years ago, El Paso has relied on a profitable north-south trade.
The railroads came in 1881, ushering in a new era of prosperity.
Today 18 wheelers, trains and planes move manufactured goods back and forth through the border cities at the Pass, just as the Spanish did in the 16th
Century when they guided oxen-drawn carts along the Camino Real, the Royal Highway from Mexico City to Santa Fe.
With growth of the maquilla industry in Mexico and passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, El Paso has become a more important player on the
international scene.
U.S. industrialists, seeking a way to remain competitive in foreign markets, have located factories in Juarez, often establishing a warehouse or
companion facility in El Paso.
The University of Texas at El Paso and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces are the closest four-year universities in the area. Sul Ross University
is located in Alpine, 250 miles southeast. El Paso Community College offers a two-year associate degree.
The 2000 U.S. Census estimates indicate In El Paso County, 78.2 percent of the population is Hispanic or Latino. Also, the census showed 48.2 percent is
male and 51.8 percent is female.
El Paso is a young, bilingual community, with Spanish a major language, median age in El Paso County is 30 years, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. The
city is 4,000 feet above sea level. The Rocky Mountains begin in El Paso.
The city gets its name from Spanish conquistador Don Juan de Oņate who named the area El Paso, The Pass, because of the shallow place in the river where
the colonists crossed over en route to Santa Fe, N.M.
Fort Bliss celebrated its 155th anniversary in El Paso in 2003. The post is home to the Army?s Air Defense Artillery Center and School.
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