page_title: Mexico–United States border
section_title: Border crossing checkpoints
hierarchical_section_title: Mexico–United States border / Border crossing checkpoints
caption_attribution_description: English: Bridge of the Americas (El Paso–Ciudad Juárez) Español: Puente de las Américas (El Paso-Ciudad Juárez)
context_page_description: The Mexico–United States border is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. The Mexico–United States border is the most frequently crossed border in the world, with approximately 350 million documented crossings annually. It is the tenth-longest border between two countries in the world.
  The total length of the continental border is 3,145 kilometers. From the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the course of the Rio Grande to the border crossing at Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and El Paso, Texas. Westward from El Paso–Juárez, it crosses vast tracts of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts to the Colorado River Delta and San Diego–Tijuana, before reaching the Pacific Ocean.
context_section_description: The border separating Mexico and the United States is the most frequently crossed international boundary in the world, with approximately 350 million legal crossings taking place annually.
  There are 48 U.S.–Mexico border crossings, with 330 ports of entry. At these points of entry, people trying to get into the U.S. are required to open their bags for inspection. Border crossings take place by roads, pedestrian walkways, railroads and ferries. From west to east, below is a list of the border city "twinnings"; cross-border municipalities connected by one or more legal border crossings.
  San Diego, California (San Ysidro) – Tijuana, Baja California (San Diego–Tijuana Metro)
  Cross Border Xpress, Otay Mesa, California – Tijuana International Airport, Baja California
  Otay Mesa, California – Tijuana, Baja California
  Tecate, California – Tecate, Baja California
  Calexico, California – Mexicali, Baja California
  Andrade, California – Los Algodones, Baja California
  San Luis, Arizona – San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora
  Lukeville, Arizona – Sonoyta, Sonora
  Sasabe, Arizona – Altar, Sonora
  Nogales, Arizona – Nogales, Sonora
  Naco, Arizona – Naco, Sonora
  Douglas, Arizona – Agua Prieta, Sonora
  Antelope Wells, New Mexico – El Berrendo, Chihuahua
  Columbus, New Mexico – Palomas, Chihuahua
  Santa Teresa, New Mexico – San Jerónimo, Chihuahua
  El Paso, Texas – Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua (El Paso-Juarez)
  Fabens, Texas – Práxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua municipality
  Fort Hancock, Texas – El Porvenir, Chihuahua
  Presidio, Texas – Ojinaga, Chihuahua
  Heath Canyon, Texas – La Linda, Coahuila (closed)
  Del Rio, Texas – Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila
  Eagle Pass, Texas – Piedras Negras, Coahuila
  Laredo, Texas – Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
  Laredo, Texas – Colombia, Nuevo León
  Falcon Heights, Texas – Presa Falcón, Tamaulipas
  Roma, Texas – Ciudad Miguel Alemán, Tamaulipas
  Rio Grande City, Texas – Ciudad Camargo, Tamaulipas
  Los Ebanos, Texas – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas
  Mission, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas
  Hidalgo, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas
  Pharr, Texas – Reynosa, Tamaulipas
  Donna, Texas – Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas
  Progreso, Texas – Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas
  Los Indios, Texas – Matamoros, Tamaulipas
  Brownsville, Texas – Matamoros, Tamaulipas
  The total population of the borderlands—defined as those counties and municipios lining the border on either side—stands at some 12 million people.
caption: Going into Mexico from El Paso, Texas, U.S.
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