Borrego Pass is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

consisting of two

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...

communitiesIverson, Peter (1983) ''The Navajo Nation'' University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, volume 2, pages 144–145, and a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

in the Navajo lands of

McKinley County McKinley County is a county in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 71,367. Its county seat is Gallup. The county was created in 1901 and named for President William ...

, in northwestern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, United States. In

its name is , meaning "Upward Path of the Lamb." Borrego Pass is located on Navajo Route 48, twelve air miles and fifteen miles by road southeast of

Crownpoint Crownpoint ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Navajo Nation in McKinley County, New Mexico, McKinley County, New Mexico. The population was 2,500 at the time of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. It is located along the Tr ...

.Eddington, Patrick and Makov, Susan (1995) ''Trading post guidebook: where to find the trading posts, galleries, auctions, artists, and museums of the Four Corners region'' Northland Publishing, Flagstaff, Arizona, pages 133-134,

History

The community formed around the Borrego Pass Trading Post which was opened in 1927 and was first operated by Ben and Anna Harvey, and then starting in 1935 by Bill and Jean Cousins. It was sold in 1939 to Don and Fern Smouse who operated it for over forty years. The trading post was named after the nearby Borrego Pass an ancient

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a prac ...

, across the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not c ...

, that cuts into the Dutton Plateau.

Education

There is a Navajo school at Borrego Pass, the Borrego Pass School () which was established in the early 1950s. In 1972, it became one of the first contract schools of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

(B.I.A.). It is now affiliated with the

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant ...

(BIE). It is in

Gallup-McKinley County Public Schools Gallup-McKinley County Schools (GMCS) is a school district based in Gallup, New Mexico which serves students from Gallup and surrounding areas of McKinley County. History Prior to 1980, the district had of land. That year parts left to form the ...

. It is zoned to Crownpoint Elementary School, Crownpoint Middle School, and

Crownpoint High School Crownpoint High School is a public high school in Crownpoint, New Mexico. It is a part of the Gallup McKinley County Schools district. Its attendance boundary includes Crownpoint and Borrego Pass. - KML filesHigh boundariesanlocations History ...

. - KML files
High boundaries
an
locations

Notes

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in McKinley County, New Mexico Populated places on the Navajo Nation Populated places established in 1927 Water gaps of the United States Valleys of New Mexico Unincorporated communities in New Mexico