The border between Mexico and the United States is more than 3,100 km long. It passes through four states of the United States and six states of Mexico. Among US states, Texas has the longest stretch of border with Mexico, and California — the shortest. Among the states of Mexico, Chihuahua has the longest border with the United States, and the shortest — at Nuevo Leon. It is the most crossed border in the world, with more than 350 million people crossing it each year, plus about 5 million cars and trucks. According to various estimates, the number of illegal crossings reaches 500 thousand per year.
The border crosses a variety of terrains, from urban areas to deserts. It is the tenth longest border between two powers in the world.
The border between Mexico and the United States begins at a starting point located three nautical miles south of the southernmost point of San Diego Bay. The border then runs 227 kilometers as the crow flies to the confluence of the Colorado and Gila Rivers. The border continues south along the Colorado River for 39 kilometers until it reaches a point 32 kilometers south of the Gila River confluence. The border then follows a series of lines and parallels totaling 859 kilometers until it intersects with the Rio Grande River.
Approximately a third of the border (more than 1,000 km) has fences, however, in many places they are easily surmountable. In some areas, the border is protected by a metal fence 4-5 meters high. On the US side, 20 thousand American border guards are engaged in border protection, but most of them work within populated areas.
According to the La Paz Agreement, the official border zone extends 100 kilometers on both sides from the internal and maritime borders from the Gulf of Mexico west to the Pacific Ocean.
There are 44 land border crossings along the border: 8 in Arizona, 6 in California, 4 in New Mexico and 27 in Texas. Border crossings are carried out by roads, pedestrian roads, railways and ferries. The border crossings in Tijuana are considered the busiest. The San Isidro-El Chaparral crossing records 40 million crossings annually and is equipped with an 8-lane vehicle checkpoint.
To view basic data on border crossings, select the desired crossing in the drop-down list, and then click on the marker on the map.