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5. Mexico/US border: Some facts The Mexico–United States border is an international border running from Imperial Beach, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east.borderImperial BeachCalifornia TijuanaBaja CaliforniaMatamorosTamaulipasBrownsvilleTexas The U.S. states along the border, from west to east, are: California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The Mexican states are: Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.U.S. statesCaliforniaArizonaNew MexicoTexas Mexican statesBaja CaliforniaSonoraChihuahuaCoahuilaNuevo LeónTamaulipas One of the most strongly fortified areas of the border separates the urban areas of San Diego and Tijuana. Here, the border is marked with double and even triple fencing. In between the fences is "no-man's land," an area that the U.S. Border Patrol monitors with bright lights, armored trucks, and cameras. The border, separating Mexico and the United States from each other, traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major urban areas to inhospitable deserts (Arizona and Sonoran Deserts).MexicoUnited States From the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the course of the Rio Grande.Gulf of Mexico The border's total length is 1,969 miles. It is the most frequently crossed international border in the world, with approximately 350 million legal crossings being made annually. About a third of the border is fenced, often in populated areas. A lot of the border is not fenced because the geography does the job. Some of the fence has art, graffiti or ads on it. The fence has gaps for farmers to reach their fields and for ranchers to allow their livestock to graze. Some of the fence is designed to stop vehicles. The first government sponsored fence went up in 1909, to keep tick-infested cattle out. There are currently 45 U.S.–Mexico border crossings with 330 ports of entryU.S.–Mexico border crossings The Secure Fence Act of 2006 was passed providing for the construction of 700 miles (1,100 km) of high- security fencing. Attempts to complete the construction of the United States–Mexico barrier have been challenged by the Mexican government and various U.S.–based organizations.Secure Fence Act of 2006United States–Mexico barrierMexican government ©Teaching Geography Spring 2015