Lajitas, Texas

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Lajitas, Texas
Unincorporated community
Lajitas in 2014
Lajitas in 2014
Lajitas, Texas is located in Texas
Lajitas, Texas
Lajitas, Texas
Location within Texas
Coordinates: 29°15′42″N 103°46′36″W / 29.26167°N 103.77667°W / 29.26167; -103.77667Coordinates: 29°15′42″N 103°46′36″W / 29.26167°N 103.77667°W / 29.26167; -103.77667
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyBrewster
Elevation
2,342 ft (714 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
79852
Area code432
GNIS feature ID1339481

Lajitas is an unincorporated community in Brewster County, Texas, United States, near the Big Bend National Park.

History[]

The settlement is named for the Boquillas flagstone found in the area. "Lajitas" translates to "little flat rocks" in Spanish.[1]

Starting in the 1980s as a joke, for many years the purported mayor of Lajitas was Clay Henry III, a "beer-drinking" goat.[2] After two replacements of the original Clay Henry, the trading post and stable where the actual mayor lived is now closed and the goat no longer resides there.[3][4]

Geography[]

Climate[]

Lajitas has a hot semiarid climate with very hot summers and mild winters.

Climate data for Lajitas, Texas (Mar 1, 1978–Mar 31, 2013)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 89
(32) 		98
(37) 		102
(39) 		109
(43) 		113
(45) 		115
(46) 		113
(45) 		112
(44) 		110
(43) 		104
(40) 		97
(36) 		90
(32) 		115
(46)
Average high °F (°C) 68.8
(20.4) 		75.0
(23.9) 		83.1
(28.4) 		91.2
(32.9) 		97.8
(36.6) 		102.2
(39.0) 		100.5
(38.1) 		99.1
(37.3) 		95.1
(35.1) 		87.8
(31.0) 		77.4
(25.2) 		69.2
(20.7) 		87.3
(30.7)
Daily mean °F (°C) 51.7
(10.9) 		57.1
(13.9) 		64.5
(18.1) 		72.7
(22.6) 		80.8
(27.1) 		87.6
(30.9) 		87.3
(30.7) 		86.0
(30.0) 		81.5
(27.5) 		72.0
(22.2) 		60.5
(15.8) 		52.2
(11.2) 		71.2
(21.8)
Average low °F (°C) 34.6
(1.4) 		39.1
(3.9) 		45.8
(7.7) 		54.3
(12.4) 		63.8
(17.7) 		73.0
(22.8) 		74.1
(23.4) 		72.9
(22.7) 		67.6
(19.8) 		56.3
(13.5) 		43.6
(6.4) 		35.2
(1.8) 		55.0
(12.8)
Record low °F (°C) 14
(−10) 		5
(−15) 		19
(−7) 		28
(−2) 		42
(6) 		59
(15) 		54
(12) 		61
(16) 		47
(8) 		27
(−3) 		23
(−5) 		10
(−12) 		5
(−15)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.33
(8.4) 		0.27
(6.9) 		0.23
(5.8) 		0.34
(8.6) 		0.95
(24) 		1.47
(37) 		2.16
(55) 		1.32
(34) 		1.57
(40) 		1.29
(33) 		0.30
(7.6) 		0.24
(6.1) 		10.47
(266)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.1
(0.25)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.001 in) 2.17 1.43 1.14 1.51 3.22 4.17 5.78 4.47 4.35 3.56 1.85 1.50 33.79
Source: Western Regional Climate Center, Desert Research Institute[5]

Economy[]

The Lajitas Golf Resort and Spa is a 20,000-acre golf resort business in Lajitas owned by Texas businessman Kelcy Warren, who bought the resort from previous owner Steve Smith while the business was going through financial distress.[6] It is located on the Rio Grande, bordering Mexico,[7] between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.[8]

Education[]

Lajitas is zoned to schools in the Terlingua Common School District.[9]

Media[]

In the 1970s the community had one telephone, and newspapers were delivered one day later than their normal dates. Additionally there were no televisions, the latter a rarity among communities in the decade.[9]

Infrastructure[]

Airport[]

Due to the remoteness of the resort, Lajitas is served by the Lajitas International Airport, a private airport with a 5,000 ft (1,500 m) asphalt runway.[7]

Lajitas Cemetery
Lajitas Cemetery

In popular culture[]

Lajitas is mentioned extensively in Red Dirt/Texas Country artist Wade Bowen's song "Day of the Dead" recorded in October 2017. In The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Pete and a coyote sit overlooking the Rio Grande near Lajitas.

References[]

  1. ^ "Old Cemetery In Lajitas, Texas, A Tiny Town That Abuts Big Bend National Park In Southwestern Brewster County, On A Bluff Overlooking The Rio Grande River In The Northern Part Of The Chihuahuan Desert". Library of Congress. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  2. ^ Cannon, B. (2004). Texas: Land of Legend and Lore. Wordware Publishing, Incorporated. p. 204. ISBN 978-1-55622-949-7.
  3. ^ "Mayor Clay Henry III: A Word About the Mayor". Lajitas Resort & Spa. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  4. ^ RoadsideAmerica.com staff (May 2011). "Clay Henry - Famous Beer-Drinking Dead Goat". RoadsideAmerica.com. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  5. ^ "LAJITAS, TEXAS (414950), Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary". Western Regional Climate Center, Desert Research Institute. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  6. ^ Fenton, Tom (2015-09-14). "Lajitas Resort: Why you better go now - El Paso Inc.: Publishers Column". El Paso Inc. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  7. ^ a b Black Jack's Crossing Golf Club, Bradley S. Klein, Business Jet Traveler, August 2012.
  8. ^ Texas: Bordering on the bizarre, by Russell Baillie, New Zealand Herald, 5:00 PM Thursday Mar 16, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Thomas, Les (1976-12-19). "Last bastion of silence: Town enjoys lack of TV". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 2B. - Clipping from Newspapers.com. It states the students attend Terlingua Common School.

Further reading[]

  • Hilton, Evelyn. "Lajitas, TX". TSHA Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.

External links[]


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