This 1,954-mile line wasn’t always there. Before the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), the border looked totally different. After the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the US got California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Mexico got to keep a fantastic food culture.
Map Us And Mexico Border
For a while, the border was actually debated with sticks and maps. A guy named John Russell Bartlett accidentally moved the border south by about 100 miles while surveying. Whoops. That’s the Bootheel I mentioned earlier—a side effect of 19th-century Google Maps being broken.
What’s It Like to Visit the Border?
If you ever stand at the border in, say, Nogales, Arizona, you’ll see a heavy fence that looks like it could stop a tank. But step ten feet away, and you’ll find families waving to each other through the gaps. It’s a weird mix of metal and love.
Other spots, like in Big Bend National Park in Texas, the border is just a kidney-bean-shaped river you can wade across. Pro-tip: Don’t do that without your passport. The river is friendly; the officers are not.
