Chamizal National Memorial

Chamizal National Memorial
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	El Paso, Texas, USA
Coordinates	31°46′4″N 106°27′15″W
Area	54.90 acres (22.22 ha)
Established	February 4, 1974
Visitors	231,380 (in 2005)
Governing body	National Park Service

Chamizal National Memorial, located in El Paso, Texas, along the United States–Mexico international border, commemorates the peaceful settlement of the Chamizal boundary dispute.

Facility

Visitor Center at Chamizal National Memorial

The 55-acre (22 ha) memorial park serves primarily as a cultural center and contains art galleries, a theater, and an amphitheatre. A museum, which details the history of the U.S.–Mexico border, is located inside the visitor center. The park commemorates the peaceful resolution of the Chamizal Dispute, a more than 100-year border dispute between the United States and Mexico that resulted from the natural change of course of the Rio Grande between the cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. This national memorial was established on part of the disputed land that was assigned to the United States according to the Chamizal Convention of 1963; a corresponding Parque Público Federal "El Chamizal" was created on the now-Mexican portion of the land.

Administrative history

The National Memorial was authorized on June 30, 1966. It was established as a National Park Service unit on February 4, 1974, and was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places the same day.

Admission, hours

Fees and permits required to use the theater. Fees for picnic facilities for groups of 50 or more.

Park grounds, 5 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Visitors center and galleries open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m . Administration office open 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

External links

• Official NPS website: Chamizal National Memorial
• NPS image archive