Terlingua ghost town (USA) – description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Reviews of tourists, photos and videos.
Terlingua is one of the famous Texas attractions, a ghost town covered in legends and infamous glory. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was a living working settlement built near the mines from which 40% of the total mercury used in the United States was lifted. In the best period, the population of Terlingua reached three thousand people. However, over time, mercury reserves decreased, the incomes of workers decreased, which led to an outflow of residents – around 1940, almost no one was left in the village.
The town borrowed its name from the nearby Terlingua Creek River, so named by the Mexican shepherds in honor of the indigenous Indian tribes that inhabited these lands: Comanche, Shawnee, Apache. The word “terlingua” is translated as “three languages”. See topschoolsoflaw for brief history of Texas.
Terlingua today
Today, about 200 people live in Terlingua, most of them work in the tourism industry. The town has a hotel, several private boarding houses and cafes, a shop, a market and even its own amateur theater. The ghost town – in fact, the very mines, the old cemetery and abandoned workers’ houses – are located at some distance from the residential area.
The main entertainment of modern Terlingua is admiring the sunset from the site of the building of the old post office. Every evening, guests and residents of the village gather here to watch the orange sun slowly melt behind the pastel horizon line, and then enjoy a glass of beer at a local bar.
A few years ago, to attract tourists, they began to hold a chili festival here – an event for which several thousand eccentrics gather in the town every year on the first weekend of November. People come on trailers to a huge wasteland near the city, dress up in fancy dress, and, having crucified the tumbleweed, roast meat in a spicy sauce for a couple of days to incendiary music. A kind of reckless fun in Texas.
What to watch
The ruins of a ghost town (not fenced, admission is free), giant cacti, a dramatic red sunset and a bottomless starry sky. Everything is free.
There are no organized tours of Terlingua, but you can find a private guide (ask at Big Bend Holiday). However, it is easier to buy a historical map in a souvenir shop – its back contains a detailed description of the entire history of the village – and take a walk on your own. Not far from the town is the national park “Big Bend” ( off. site in English).
Practical Information
Address: Texas 79852, Terlingua. GPS coordinates: 29.321604,-103.6247953.
There is no public transport in Terlingua, you can only get there by car. On the tracks, the Big Bend National Park can serve as a reference point.
Jacob’s well
Jacob’s Well (Texas, USA) — detailed description, location, reviews, photos and videos.
Hidden against the backdrop of idyllic nature, a crevice in the rock is literally mesmerizing. Especially when you see local Texas boys jumping headlong into this ominous hole in the ground. Fortunately, you don’t have time to shout after them, because, as soon as you open your mouth, you realize that the crevice is filled with water. The water is so clear that it costs nothing to rehearse a “jump into the abyss” or take a series of dizzying photographs here. And this miracle of nature is located in the small town of Wimberley, Texas.
“Hell Hole” is actually part of a system of underwater caves, by the way, still not explored. And the mysterious and frightening entrance to the water is called Jacob’s Well, the diameter of this hole is as much as four meters.
Despite the terrible legends associated with the death of divers who go about this place, Jacob’s Well is one of the most popular attractions in Texas.
They say that the deep arches of these caves buried at the bottom of many divers who wished to explore them. And this despite the fact that the official depth of the well is only 10 meters. The main mystery and trap for divers lies in four mysterious branches following one after another.
Despite the terrible legends that go about this place, Jacob’s Well is one of the most popular attractions in Texas.
So, the first branch cave ends at a depth of as much as 16 meters. It is well lit; diving, you can see both fish and algae. The second cave following it is at a depth of 24 meters and has a very narrow entrance. This place is called the main trap. Next comes the third cave with dangerous loose gravel and a small entrance, which everyone tries to swim past without hitting. Finally, the last cave, which received the nickname “Virgin”, has not really been studied – it is almost impossible to get there.
Address: Jacob’s Well Natural Area; 221, Wood Acre Drive, Wimberley, Texas. From Wimberley every Saturday at 10 am, free tours from Jacob’s Well start.
