El Paso: the twin city on the Mexican border

Overlooking the Rio Grande across from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez, El Paso remains one of the largest binational metropolitan areas in the world.

The historic tram remains a picturesque way to move downtown.

The Ysleta Mission, founded in the seventeenth century, remains the oldest Catholic mission still active in the United States, predating even those of California.

A short walk away, the Franklin Mountains, which cross the city, house the largest urban mountain park in the United States with panoramic hiking trails.

Continuing toward the border, one observes the Rio Grande, which separates El Paso from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez in a single cross-border metropolitan area.

Toward evening, local restaurants serve traditional tex-mex cuisine, a culinary fusion born in this border region.

The Ysleta Mission, founded in sixteen eighty-two by Tigua refugees fleeing the Pueblo Revolt in New Mexico, remains the oldest continuously active Catholic mission in the United States.

El Paso and Ciudad Juárez together form one of the world's largest binational metropolitan areas, with millions of people crossing the border daily for work and commerce.