Borrego Pass () is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) consisting of two

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

communitiesIverson, Peter (1983) ''The Navajo Nation'' University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, volume 2, pages 144–145, and a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

in the Navajo lands of

McKinley County McKinley County is a county in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 72,902. Its county seat is Gallup. The county was created in 1901 and named for President William ...

, in northwestern

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States. In

its name is , meaning "Upward Path of the Lamb." As of the 2020 census, the population was 117.

History

The community formed around the Borrego Pass Trading Post which was opened in 1927 and was first operated by Ben and Anna Harvey, and then starting in 1935 by Bill and Jean Cousins. It was sold in 1939 to Don and Fern Smouse who operated it for over forty years. The trading post was named after the nearby Borrego Pass an ancient

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a pract ...

, across the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

, that cuts into the Dutton Plateau.

Geography

Borrego Pass is located in east-central McKinley County on Navajo Route 48, by road southeast of CrownpointEddington, Patrick and Makov, Susan (1995) ''Trading post guidebook: where to find the trading posts, galleries, auctions, artists, and museums of the Four Corners region'' Northland Publishing, Flagstaff, Arizona, pages 133-134, and north of Prewitt. The town center, including Borrego Pass School, sits at an elevation of less than a mile southwest of the pass proper. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Borrego Pass CDP has an area of , all land. The Continental Divide runs through the northern and eastern parts of the CDP, sometimes forming its northeastern border. Most of the community, on the south side of the divide, drains southward toward Casamero Draw and eventually the Rio San Jose, part of the

Rio Puerco The Rio Puerco is a tributary of the Rio Grande in the U.S. state of New Mexico. From its source on the west side of the Nacimiento Mountains, it flows about ,Calculated in Google Earth generally south to join the Rio Grande about south of ...

watershed leading to the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

and the Gulf of Mexico. The northernmost part of the CDP drains north toward Kim-me-ni-oli Wash, a tributary of the

Chaco River Chaco River is a river tributary to the San Juan River (Colorado River), San Juan River in San Juan County, New Mexico. Its mouth lies at an elevation of . Its source is located at an elevation of at , its confluence with Chaco Wash and Escavado W ...

, part of the San Juan River watershed leading to the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

and ultimately the Gulf of California.

Education

There is a Navajo school at Borrego Pass, the Borrego Pass School () which was established in the early 1950s. In 1972, it became one of the first contract schools of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

(B.I.A.). It is now affiliated with the

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs that directs and manages education functions. Formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs ...

(BIE). It is in

Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools Gallup-McKinley County Schools (GMCS) is a school district based in Gallup, New Mexico which serves students from Gallup and surrounding areas of McKinley County. History Prior to 1980, the district had of land. That year parts left to form t ...

. It is zoned to Crownpoint Elementary School, Crownpoint Middle School, and Crownpoint High School. - KML files
High boundaries
an
locations

Notes

{{authority control Census-designated places in New Mexico Census-designated places in McKinley County, New Mexico Unincorporated communities in New Mexico Unincorporated communities in McKinley County, New Mexico Populated places on the Navajo Nation Populated places established in 1927 Water gaps of the United States Valleys of New Mexico