Terlingua, Texas

Terlingua, Texas
Terlingua in 1936
Terlingua in 1936
Nickname: 
Terlingua Ghost Town
Motto: 
"The Texas Ghost Town"
Coordinates: 29°17′57″N 103°34′46″W / 29.29917°N 103.57944°W / 29.29917; -103.57944[1]
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyBrewster
Area
 • Total
11.0 sq mi (28.5 km2)
 • Land11.0 sq mi (28.5 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation2,507 ft (764 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
78
 • Density7.1/sq mi (2.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
FIPS code48-72248[2]
GNIS feature ID2584745[1]
Perry Mansion
Panoramic view
Old Church in Terlingua, 1973

Terlingua (/tərˈlɪŋɡwə/ tər-LING-gwə) is a mining district and census-designated place (CDP) in southwestern Brewster County, Texas, United States. It is located near the Rio Grande and the villages of Lajitas and Study Butte, Texas, as well as the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The discovery of cinnabar, from which the metal mercury is extracted, in the mid-1880s brought miners to the area, creating a city of 2,000 people. The only remnants of the mining days are a ghost town of the Howard Perry-owned Chisos Mining Company and several nearby capped and abandoned mines: the California Hill, the Rainbow, the 248, and the Study Butte mines. The mineral terlinguaite was first found in the vicinity of California Hill.

The population of Terlingua as of 2020 was 78.[3]

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Terlingua, Texas
  2. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ "2020 Decennial Census (P1): Terlingua CDP, Texas". U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2022.