The 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 honors 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. The Chamizal Convention was negotiated by the International Boundary and Water Commission, which was established in 1889 to maintain the border, and pursuant to later treaties to allocate river waters between the two nations, and provide for flood control and water sanitation.
Official Brochure of Chamizal National Memorial (NMEM) in Texas. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
https://www.nps.gov/cham/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamizal_National_Memorial
The 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 honors 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. The Chamizal Convention was negotiated by the International Boundary and Water Commission, which was established in 1889 to maintain the border, and pursuant to later treaties to allocate river waters between the two nations, and provide for flood control and water sanitation.
Chamizal is more than just an urban park to recreate or enjoy a quiet afternoon. These grounds are a reminder of the harmonious settlement of a 100-year boundary dispute between the United States and Mexico. We celebrate the cultures of the borderlands to promote the same mutual respect that helped to diplomatically resolve an international disagreement.
Chamizal National Memorial is located in a large, bi-national metropolitan area and easily accessible by road. El Paso International Airport is nearby, as well as an Amtrack train station.
Chamizal National Memorial Cultural Center
The Chamizal National Memorial Cultural Center includes the theater, exhibit areas, park store and visitor information desk.
From Paisano Drive, turn south onto South San Marcial Street. Memorial entrance is on the left, opposite Bowie High School.
Mountain View
a bench next to a tree with U.S. and Mexican flags flying against a mountain background
Chamizal National Memorial stands as a reminder of the effectiveness of diplomacy and the power of friendship.
Junior Rangers
a group of children with hand raised in front of park rangers and ground squirrel mascot
Junior Rangers learn about Chamizal National Memorial.
Trails
walking trails cross a field of green grass with mountain in the background
Enjoy the green space of Chamizal in the heart of El Paso.
Theater Performances
Women in swirling skirts and men with sombreros and colorful ponchos dance onstage
Take in a theater performance such as this ballet folklorico.
Franklin G. Smith Gallery
paintings hang from art gallery walls
Browse art from the borderland in the Franklin G. Smith Gallery.
2015 Recipients: George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service
Six people and programs received the 2015 Harzog Award for their exceptional volunteer service. Check out their amazing contributions!
Young volunteer giving a thumbs up sign
National Park Getaway: Chamizal National Memorial
It’s fiesta time at Chamizal National Memorial! As the National Park Service celebrates 100 years of preserving the nation’s natural and cultural heritage, the park also celebrates 50 years of the community’s heritage and international friendship.
Two dancers on stage
Air Quality in the Chihuahuan Desert
Three park units in the Chihuahuan Desert Network, Big Bend National Park (NP), Carlsbad Caverns NP, and Guadalupe Mountains NP are designated as Class I air quality areas under the Clean Air Act. Class I areas receive the highest protection under the act, and degradation of air quality must be minimal. Air quality concerns include atmospheric deposition effects and visibility impairment from fine particle haze.
Rugged landscape under a partly cloudy sky at Big Bend National Park
Module Conducts Wildland-Urban Interface Projects Throughout the Intermountain Region
In 2013, the Saguaro Wildland Fire Module (WFM) managed multiple projects simultaneously in AZ, TX, and NM. WFMs are highly skilled and versatile fire crews that provide expertise in long-term planning, ignitions, holding, prescribed fire preparation and implementation support, hazardous fuels reduction, and fire effects monitoring. With their help, fire fulfills its natural or historic role to meet resource and management objectives and create fire-adapted communities.
Pollinators - Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) are amazingly adapted pollinators, and they play an important role in pollination.
A flying hummingbird hovers next to a red flower
National Park Service Commemoration of the 19th Amendment
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment the National Park Service has developed a number of special programs. This includes online content, exhibits, and special events. The National Park Service’s Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems (CRGIS) announces the release of a story map that highlights some of these programs and provides information for the public to locate and participate.
Opening slide of the 19th Amendment NPS Commemoration Story Map
Chamizal Virtual Ranger
Become a Chamizal National Memorial Virtual Ranger! Complete the online activities and print your badge, then let us know what you think.
Ground squirrel mascot stands next to boundary monument in front of park cultural center.
Nuestra Herencia Mural
"Nuestra Herencia," the title of a large mural at Chamizal National Memorial, means, "Our Heritage." Visitors can see the brightly-colored painting on their way to the memorial's Cultural Center. Find out how artist Carlos Flores uses symbols and vibrant imagery to represent the nations, races, traditions, and histories that have shaped the US-Mexico borderland.
A mural covers three walls of a park building, seen from across an open, paved area.
Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks
Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.
Green, orange, and dead grey junipers in red soil, mountains in background
Chamizal
Chamizal National Memorial
Texas
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Left, izquierda: President Lyndon B. Johnson
and President Adolfo López Mateos, 1964.
Above, arriba: Chamizal National Memorial.
Rio Grande / Río Bravo
Chamizal National Memorial celebrates the
peaceful settlement of a dispute over the
international boundary at El Paso, Texas, and
Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. On August 29, 1963,
after decades of arguing about who owned
a piece of land shaped and reshaped by the
meandering Rio Grande river, the guestion was
finally settled by diplomacy and technology.
The river was constrained within a concrete
channel for four and a half miles, forming a
permanent border between the two nations.
The Chamizal Convention, or treaty, also set
aside a portion of the former Mexican land
that now lies in the United States for recreational and cultural use. At Chamizal National
Memorial, established in 1974, music, visual
arts, dance, and drama form cultural bridges as
strong as the steel spans over the Rio Grande.
Chamizal National Memorial (el monumento
conmemorativo del Chamizal) celebra la resolución pacífica de un litigio por la frontera
internacional entre El Paso, Texas y Ciudad
Juárez, México. El 29 de agosto de 1963, tras
décadas de desacuerdo por un terreno formado
y reformado por la divagación río Bravo, la
diplomacia y la tecnología resolvieron el problema. El río fue contenido en un canal de
concreto a lo largo de siete kilómetros, delimitando una frontera permanente entre los dos
países.
In t h e 1860s a dispute arose over a section of
Mexican farmland k n o w n as the Chamizal
tract. Its original northern border was t h e
Rio Grande, the international border. The
trouble was t h a t t h e river's course was shifting southward. By t h e 1880s t h e Chamizal ,. " A
tract was in the U.S. (top map), but did t h e
^ ^
Mexican farmer still o w n it? Years later, a .,7;
f l o o d control project cut off a loop of t h e
-itc 55 ;
river, creating Cordova Island—a detached
r
part of Mexico n o w north of t h e Rio Grande
(center map).
W i t h the title t o t h e Chamizal unclear and
Mexico's Cordova Island projecting incongruously into El Paso, tensions rose. In t h e **• "J?
1960s it was technology t h a t came t o t h e
rescue: a new concrete-lined channel tor
the Rio Grande was built, bisecting both the
" Chamizal tract and Cordova Island (center — '•.
and bottom maps). The t w o nations exchanged land, and people and businesses
were relocated. Chamizal National Memorial
occupies part of old Cordova Island.
La convención o tratado del Chamizal también
apartó para uso recreativo y cultural, una
parte del anteriormente suelo mexicano que
actualmente yace en los Estados Unidos. En
el Chamizal National Memorial establecido en
1974, la música, las artes visuales, el baile y el
drama forman puentes culturales tan sólidos
como los arcos de acero sobre el río Bravo.
A Tale of Two Treaties / Una Historia de Dos Tratados
'
Ceded by
Mexico
1848
from Mexico 1853
Results of the 1848 war. Top: 1850s surveyor's transit.
Resultados de la Guerra de 1848. Arriba: Tránsito de
topógrafos en la década de 1850.
Con el t í t u l o del Chamizal algo i n d e f i n i d o ,
a u m e n t ó la tensión. En la década de 1960,
la tecnología vino al rescate: se construyo
un nuevo canal de concreto para el río
Bravo, disecar t a n t o la extensión del Chamizal como la isla de Córdova (mapa central
e inferior). Los dos países intercambiaron
t e r r i t o r i o y se reubicó a las personas y a los
negocios. El Chamizal National M e m o r i a l
ocupa parte de la vieja isla de Córdova.
Background, en el fondo: El Paso, 1895
Fl PAEnrnilNTVHIRTnRIYAI pnrtFTV
"
Massive flooding alters the
course of the Rio Grande, Initiating a hundred-year-long
dispute about exact position
of the international border.
International boundary Is established at the center of the
river's deepest channel. If river
course changes abruptly, the
old boundary remains In place.
Mexico makes claim on behalf
of Pedro Garcia, whose land—
the Chamizal tract—ended up
in the US after the river course
shifted.
Una enorme inundación altera
el curso del río Bravo, desencaEl tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo denando una disputa durante
pone fin a la guerra; Estados
más de un siglo sobre la posición
Unidos obtiene una gran parte exacta de la frontera internade lo que es actualmente su
cional.
oeste. México está de acuerdo
en reconocer el río Bravo como
frontera entre México y Texas.
La frontera se establece al centro más profundo del río. SI el
curso del río cambiara abruptamente, la antigua frontera
permanece en su sitio.
México reclama territorio en
nombre de Pedro García, cuyas
tierras cuando cambio el
curso del río Bravo que ahora
estaban en el territorio estadounidense.
he treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo ends the MexicanAmerican War; US gains much
of Its present-day West. Mexico
agrees to recognize the Rio
Grande as the Texas-Mexico
border.
En l