Eagle Pass is so named because the contour of the hills through which the Rio Grande flows bore a fancied resemblance to the outstretched wings of an eagle. Originally known as Camp Eagle Pass, it served as a temporary outpost for the Texas militia, which had been ordered to stop illegal trade with Mexico during the Mexican–American War. According to the 2020 Census, the Eagle Pass Micropolitan Area population was 57,887 people, and the Piedras Negras Metropolitan Area population was 209,456 inhabitants.Įagle Pass was the first American settlement on the Rio Grande. The Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras metropolitan area (EP-PN) is one of six binational metropolitan areas along the United States-Mexican border. Įagle Pass borders the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, which is to the southwest and across the Rio Grande. Its population was 28,130 as of the 2020 census. Eagle Pass is a city in and the county seat of Maverick County in the U.S.