'' as seen from Scenic Drive. (bottom) as seen from earth orbit; the Rio Grande River is the thin line separating the two cities through the middle of the photograph. A portion of the Franklin Mountains (Texas)Franklin Mountains can be seen in the upper-left. Image courtesy of NASA. El Paso is located at (31.790208, -106.423242). It lies at the intersection of three states (Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua) and two countries (the USA and Mexico). It is the only major Texas city on Mountain Standard Time ZoneMountain Time. When Ciudad Juárez was on Central Standard Time ZoneCentral Time, it was possible to celebrate New Year's twice in the same evening by travelling a very short distance across the state and into another country. Both cities are now on Mountain Time. The city's elevation is 3,800 feet (1140 m) above sea level. The rustic North Franklin Peak towers at 7,192 feet above sea level and is the highest peak in the city. The peak can be seen from 60 miles in all directions. Additionally, this mountain range is home to the famous natural red-clay formation, the http://www.lostdestinations.com/tbird.htm Thunderbird, from which the local Coronado High School gets its mascot's name. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 648.9 km sq (250.5 square miles). The 24,000-acre Franklin Mountains State Park is the largest urban park in the United States and resides entirely in El Paso, extending from the north and neatly dividing the city into several sections along with Fort Bliss and the El Paso International Airport. The Rio Grande Rift, which passes around the southern end of the Franklin Mountains (Texas)Franklin Mountains, is where the Rio Grande River flows. The river defines the border between El Paso from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to the south and west until the river turns north of the border with Mexico, separating El Paso from Doña Ana County, New Mexico. An extinct volcano, Urbici SolerMt. Cristo Rey rises within the Rio Grande Rift just to the west of El Paso on the Doña Ana County, New MexicoNew Mexico side of the Rio Grande River. Other volcanic features include Kilbourne hole and Hunt's hole, which are Maar volcanic craters 30 miles (50 km) west of the Franklin Mountains (Texas)Franklin Mountains. El Paso is surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert, the easternmost section of the Basin and Range Region. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso%2C_Texas