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Antelope Wells is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Hidalgo County,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, United States. The community is located along the Mexico-United States border, in the

New Mexico Bootheel The New Mexico Bootheel is a salient which comprises the southwestern corner of New Mexico. As part of the Gadsden Purchase it is bounded on the east by the Mexican state of Chihuahua along a line at extending south to latitude 31°20′0″ ...

region, located across the border from the small settlement of El Berrendo, Chihuahua, Mexico. Despite its name, there are neither

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

nor

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

s in the area. The name comes from an old ranch, located north of the current community. The only inhabitants of the community are

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

employees. Antelope Wells is the southernmost settlement of New Mexico, situated in the region commonly known as the Bootheel of New Mexico. It is the smallest and least-used border crossing of the 43 ports of entry along the border with Mexico. The crossing, which is open solely for non-commercial traffic, is open every day from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The port was established by

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

in 1872 and has been staffed since 1928. In 1981, the community had a population of two, living in trailers behind the customs station, and averaged three people entering per day. In 2005, 93 pedestrians crossed over the border in the community, which consisted of just four buildings: the port of entry building, two houses and a trailer. Including domestic and international travelers, fewer than 500 buses and privately owned vehicles pass through the community each month, though traffic has been increasing as of 2006 with more international shuttle van service. Despite its low usage, there is no move to close the port, which is the only port between

Douglas, Arizona Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States that lies in the north-west to south-east running Sulpher Springs Valley. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico at Agua Prieta and a history of mining. The population was 16,531 in ...

, and

Columbus, New Mexico Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, about north of the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border. It is considered a place of historical interest, as the scene of Battle of Columbus (1916), a 1916 attack by Mexico, ...

, and provides the most direct route from the United States to the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

Recreation

Antelope Wells is located on

New Mexico State Road 81 New Mexico State Road 81 (NM 81) is a state road in southwestern New Mexico. The route runs from the Mexico–U.S. border in Antelope Wells north to NM 9 in Hachita, passing through desert and semi-arid farmland. NM 81 is maintained by the N ...

, which links it with

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

and

New Mexico State Road 9 State Road 9 (NM 9) is a state road in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The highway spans Hidalgo, Grant, and Luna counties from its western terminus at NM 80 to its eastern terminus at CR A003 at the Doña Ana county line. NM ...

. Antelope Wells was the official southern terminus of the long

Continental Divide Trail The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail (CDT)) is a United States National Scenic Trail with a length measured by the Continental Divide Trail Coalition of between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico a ...

until it was relocated to Crazy Cook, east of the nearby Hatchet Mountains in the mid-1990s and remains the location of the long

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is a , off-road bicycle touring route between Jasper, Alberta, Canada and Antelope Wells, New Mexico, USA. Completed in 1997, the GDMBR was developed by Adventure Cycling Association, who continue to m ...

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Antelope Wells has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Antelope Wells was on June 27, 1994, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 3, 2011.

Notes

External links

Map of port of entry
on the New Mexico Border Authority website {{authority control New Mexico Bootheel Unincorporated communities in New Mexico Populated places established in 1872 Unincorporated communities in Hidalgo County, New Mexico 1872 establishments in New Mexico Territory

Recreation

Climate

See also

Notes

External links