Elpaso History And Facts Guide El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are the largest cities of the Texas which are inhabited by the Indian Groups for many centuries. Francisco Vazquez de Coronado was the first European to explore the area which is known as American Southwest. El Paso is the oldest settlement in Texas. During the initial exploration of the El Paso, the early explorers saw mountain ranges rising from the dessert with a deep chasm between. They named it ‘El Paso del Norte’ which means ‘the Pass of the North. In middle of the eighteenth century around 5,000 people occupied El Paso, Spaniards, Mestizos and Indians were among them. In 1821, the entire El Paso was part of Mexico with the independence from Spain. Agriculture and commerce was developed but the unpredictable water levels of the Rio Grande frequently damaged the crops and structures. Zebulon Pike was the first American citizen reach the El Paso in 1807. The “Boot Hill” Cemetery of the old El Paso is known as the Concordia Cemetery. El Paso remains warm and dry for more than 300 days of the year with an average rainfall of about 8 inches per year. The average low temperature is 50.6 degree F and high temperature is 76.8 degree F.