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Near Marfa in Presidio County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
 

Marfa Mystery Lights

 
 
Marfa Mystery Lights Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Mansfieldphoto.com, June 11, 2025
1. Marfa Mystery Lights Marker
Inscription. The Marfa Mystery Lights are visible on many clear nights between Marfa and Paisano Pass as one looks towards the Chinati Mountains.

The lights may appear in various colors as they move about, split apart, melt together, disappear and reappear.

Robert Reed Ellison, a young cowboy, reported sighting the lights in 1883. Не spotted them while tending a herd of cattle and wondered if they were Apache Indian campfires.

Apache Indians believed these eerie lights to be stars dropping to the earth.

Many viewers have theories ranging from scientific to science fiction as they describe their ideas of aliens in UFO's, ranch house lights, St. Elmo's fire, or headlights from vehicles on US 67, the Presidio highway. Some believe the lights are an electrostatic discharge, swamp gases, moonlight shining on veins of mica, of ghosts of Conquistadors searching for gold.

An explanation as to why the lights cannot be located is an unusual phenomenon similar to a miracle, where atmospheric conditions produced by the interaction of cold and warm layers of air bend light so that it can be seen from afar, but not up close.

The mystery of these lights still remains unsolved.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Places. A significant historical year for this entry is 1883.
 
Location.
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30° 16.515′ N, 103° 52.963′ W. Marker is near Marfa, Texas, in Presidio County. It is on U.S. 90 9 miles east of State Highway 17, on the left when traveling west. The marker is located at the Marfa Travel Information Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 92521 United States Hwy 90, Marfa TX 79843, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Texas’ Trans-Pecos & Big Bend Region. It is also in the American Southwest. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Comancherνa, the Republic of Texas, and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Marfa Lights (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of Marfa Army Air Field (within shouting distance of this marker); Paisano Pass (approx. 4 miles away); Marfa Stockyards (approx. 7.6 miles away); Presidio County (approx. 7.7 miles away); Presidio (approx. 7.7 miles away); Blackwell School (approx. 8.6 miles away); Humphris-Humphreys House (approx. 8.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Marfa.
 
Also see . . .  Marfa lights. Wikipedia
The Marfa lights are an optical phenomenon regularly observed near Marfa, Texas, in the United States. They are most often seen from a viewing area nearby, which the community has publicized to encourage tourism. Scientists observing the lights over the period 2000 to 2008 concluded that the lights were the results of automobile headlights being distorted by warm desert air.
(Submitted on December 14, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)
The view of the Marfa Travel Information Center and marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Mansfieldphoto.com, June 11, 2025
2. The view of the Marfa Travel Information Center and marker
 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 14, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 158 times since then and 81 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on December 14, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.   2. submitted on December 15, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.
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Jun. 8, 2026