| Antelope Wells, New Mexico | |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated settlement |
| Pushpin Map: | New Mexico#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Antelope Wells |
| Pushpin Label Position: | top |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | A map displaying Antelope Wells in extreme southern New Mexico |
| Coordinates: | 31.3489°N -108.5089°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | U.S. state |
| Subdivision Name1: | New Mexico |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Hidalgo |
| Unit Pref: | US |
| Elevation Ft: | 4666 |
| Population Total: | 2 |
| Population As Of: | 1981 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone1: | Mountain Standard Time (MST) |
| Utc Offset1: | -7 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | -6 |
| Area Code: | 575 |
| Blank Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank Info: | 898517 |
thumb|Antelope Wells Border Station in 2019Antelope Wells is a small unincorporated community in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States. The community is located along the Mexico-United States border, in the New Mexico Bootheel region, located across the border from the small settlement of El Berrendo, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Today there are neither pronghorn (known regionally as antelopes) nor water wells in the area, but a local intermittent pond may have supported a population priorly.[1] The name comes from an old ranch, located north of the current community.[2] The only inhabitants of the community are U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees.[2]
Antelope Wells is the southernmost settlement of New Mexico, situated in the region commonly known as the Bootheel of New Mexico.[3] It is the smallest and least-used border crossing of the 43 ports of entry along the border with Mexico. The crossing, which is open solely for non-commercial traffic, is open every day from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.[3]
The port was established by Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 and has been staffed since 1928.[2] In 1981, the community had a population of two, living in trailers behind the customs station, and averaged three people entering per day.[4] In 2005, 93 pedestrians crossed over the border in the community, which consisted of just four buildings: the port of entry building, two houses and a trailer.[2] Including domestic and international travelers, fewer than 500 buses and privately owned vehicles pass through the community each month, though traffic has been increasing as of 2006 with more international shuttle van service.[2] Despite its low usage, there is no move to close the port, which is the only port between Douglas, Arizona, and Columbus, New Mexico, and provides the most direct route from the United States to the Sierra Madre Occidental.[2]
Antelope Wells is located on New Mexico State Road 81, which links it with Interstate 10 and New Mexico State Road 9. Antelope Wells was the official southern terminus of the 3100miles long Continental Divide Trail until it was relocated to Crazy Cook, east of the nearby Hatchet Mountains in the mid-1990s[5] and remains the location of the 2745miles long Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.[6]
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Antelope Wells has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Antelope Wells was 109F on June 27, 1994, while the coldest temperature recorded was -6F on February 3, 2011.
