IntroductionThe US-Mexico Borderlands

US-Mexico Borderlands

• Defined by location

Border graffiti, Nogales, MexicoBorder marker #1, Texas/Chihuahua

Historical US-Mexico Border Boundaries

Physical Geography

• Basically extensions of its northern borders:– Intermontane West, Great Plains, Inland South,

Coastal South

• Deserts:– Chihuahua, Mojave, Sonora

• Climate:– Varied due to landscape, but generally hot

Physical Geography• Hydrology

– Increasing population taxing water supply– Main rivers: Colorado, Rio Grande, Pecos

Physical Geography

• Biogeography– Peccary– Saguaro– Gila Monster– Elf Owl

Historical Settlement

• Tri-cultural area:– Native Americans– Spanish Americans– Anglo Americans

Historical Settlement

Native Americans

• Settlement Patterns– Long Beach-Los

Angeles area = more Indian residents than any other urban area in the country

– The majority of the population is static; “Four Corners”

• Ethnic Identifiers/References

–“Hispano”

–“Chicano”

–“Texanos”/“Tejanos”

• Spanish settlement in the Southwest predates English settlement by 200+ years

• Mostly explored by 1550–Santa Fe founded in 1610

• Taos, Albuquerque, and other “pueblos” followed

Hispanic Americans

Spanish American

Settlement

• Cabeza de Vaca

• Coronado

• “Zone of Contact”

• Alamo

Adapted from Arreola, 2002. Tejano South Texas: A Mexican

American Cultural Province

Ethnic Patterns• 1850: ~10% Mexican overall• 1900-1990: ~3 million legal Mexican immigrants

arrived in the US

Spatial Interaction

• Gravity Model• Complementarity• Transferability• Intervening

Opportunities

Borderland building (US Customs) in the Spanish (Mexican) style. Naco, AZ.

Spatial Interactions

• Political Boundaries• Cultural Differences• US-Mexico

Borderlands as a “Gateway”

Political Economy

• Primary Sector• Secondary

Sector– Zona libre– Maquiladoras– NAFTA

• During the 1980s, all US-Mexico Borderland states grew above the national average!

• Climate attracts retirees

• Pull factor: Industry

– Aircraft industry• Good flying weather and proximity to

California’s large aircraft complex

– Electronics industry

Regional Population Growth

Poverty Rates, 1999

• Compared to Hispanics and Native Americans– Higher incomes– Better educated– Fewer children– More urbanized

• “Quality of Life” indicators (above):– Hispanics second and Native Americans

third

Anglo Americans

Places: US-Mexico Borderlands• Major metropolitan growth cities:

– El Paso– Phoenix– Albuquerque– Tucson

• Major Border Crossings (non-Californian)– El Paso-Juarez– Ambos Nogales– Laredo-NL El Paso, TX looking toward Juarez, Mexico

Other US-Mexico Border Crossings

Sasabe (western AZ)Informal crossing, 30 miles west of Columbus, NM

Notice the gate!

Harder to get to Mexico! Naco, AZ

Reading & Discussion Question

• Reading: Short biography of Dr. Daniel D. Arreola, US-Mexico Borderlands expert

Why do some people consider the US-Mexico Borderlands a “melting pot” while other people don’t?

What do you think the future will bring for the US-Mexico Borderlands?

Related Books

• Arreola, Daniel D. 2002. Tejano South Texas: A Mexican American Cultural Province. Austin: University of Texas Press.– This book earned Dan the prestigious J. B. Jackson award from the

Association of American Geographers! He’s spent his whole career studying the US-Mexico Borderlands.

• Garreau, Joel. 1981. The Nine Nations of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.– Defines “new” regions of North America in terms of social, cultural, and

economic standards. A hit with readers in its day.• Meinig, Donald W. 1971. Southwest: Three Peoples in Geographical

Change, 1600–1970. New York: Oxford University Press.– A thorough book that scrutinizes the regional geography of Native

American, Spanish, and Mormon landscapes in the Southwest. An old-time regional geography approach.

• Nostrand, Richard L. 1992. The Hispano Homeland. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.– This book started the so-called “Homeland Theory”. It weaves

interesting tales of Hispanic families, chronicling historical and present-day events.

WebSources

• All-American Canalhttp://www.iid.com/water/works-allamerican.html

• Festival of the Westhttp://www.festivalofthewest.com/

• Mesilla, New Mexicohttp://www.oldmesilla.org/