Northwest corner of Texas |
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At the northwest corner of Texas, there is a bearing marker that can be spotted quite easily. On it there is an arrow indicating that the actual corner is 41.19 feet in that direction:
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Reisz, Jul. 2024
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When I visited the site in 1991, I walked that direction, trying to estimate the distance, but did not see anything, so I assumed the actual corner must have been right in the middle of US Highway 56-64-412. So in this photo, I was standing (as close as I could figure) on the northwest corner of Texas' panhandle. The north state line (or a reasonable approximation thereof) is the dirt road behind me (on which my car was parked):
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Sanderson, fall 1991
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As it turns out, the actual corner is not on the highway, but rather about two feet off the south edge of the pavement (in other words, a few feet behind where I was standing in the photo above). It is set a few inches below grade, so (depending how recently someone else has uncovered it) you may have to do a little digging in order to find it. If you are successful, this is what you will see:
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Reisz, Jul. 2024
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Someone who may have never looked closely at a detailed and accurate map of this area might be inclined to believe that in my photo above, my camera was in New Mexico, and everything behind me and north (left) of the dirt road would be part of Oklahoma's panhandle. Actually, that is all part of New Mexico. New Mexico "wraps" around the Texas panhandle before it reaches Oklahoma. The actual tri-state corner (common to New Mexico, Texas, and the southwest corner of Oklahoma's panhandle) is about two miles east (behind me) on the dirt road.
This next photo was taken looking the opposite direction (heading west along the north line of the Texas panhandle, looking across the US highway): |
Morrison, Apr. 2017
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Visible on the horizon is Rabbit Ears Mountain, about ten miles distant. The Texas boundary reaches the shoulder of this highway, and then makes a sharp turn to the left (south), forming the west edge of the Panhandle. Everything to the right and ahead is in New Mexico.
This webpage gives more details on exactly where the corner is, and how to locate the actual marker. The closest town to this point is Texline; this photo was taken from there: |
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Research and/or photo credits: Jeff Morrison; Gerald Reisz; Dale Sanderson
Page originally created 1998;
last updated May 25, 2025.
last updated May 25, 2025.
