What Amarillo is known for

The Amarillo Destination is located in the northern part of Texas. The city of Amarillo is also the 16th most populous city in the state of Texas. Today the city has a current population of 199,935 people.[3] Amarillo is a Spanish word meaning yellow, and it’s debated that the name of the city was given because of the color of the sub-soil in a nearby creek.[2]

The region is located along Route 66 in Texas, which itself draws in many tourists annually. Popular activities in the area include visiting the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Within the park, there is a variety of wildlife and flora, which has earned it the title of "the pride of Amarillo."[4] The canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States, second only to the Grand Canyon. Because of this, Palo Duro Canyon is often referred to as the “Grand Canyon of Texas.”[5] One of the most popular things to do in the location is participating in the steak challenge at the Big Texan Steak Ranch Brewery, which involves eating a 72 oz steak, an appetizer, salad, and a side of potatoes, all with a time constraint of one hour.[4]

Amarillo is also known for the shows and musicals that are produced in the area. Visitors to the area can view productions at the Amarillo Little Theatre, Amarillo Opera, Amarillo Symphony, and TEXAS: The Musical. In addition to visiting such locations, people tend to visit photography locations such as the Cadillac Ranch, a well-used location by photographers. The site contains ten Cadillac cars that are planted into the ground and painted with spray paint along Route 66.[4]

Most people who visit the Amarillo Destination typically plan their trips between April 16th to June 10th due to the relatively temperate weather conditions. The busiest month for tourism in Amarillo falls into the month of June, followed closely by July and December.[6] It’s not uncommon for guests to the area to travel down Route 66 on a road trip and stop in Amarillo to see the attractions and experience the atmosphere as well. Some say that one of the biggest draws to the area is the "western spirit" that still lingers in the city and the "forge your own path" attitude that residents are said to have.[7]

Amarillo, Texas, is popular for its multiple attractions, but it also contains multiple notable facts that aren’t well known. Such facts include that Amarillo is home to the third-largest runway in the world at the Rick Husband Airport. The first radio concert to be broadcasted was played by the Amarillo station WDAG in 1922. Another popular fact about the destination is that “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” was filmed in the city, which film features Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.[5]

Geography

The Amarillo Destination is known for its sandy environment, considering that it is located on a dry lake bed in the northern plains of Texas. The color of the soil in the region is what led the city to earn the name Amarillo, which means yellow in Spanish.[8] Amarillo is located in the seat of Potter County, near the Texas panhandle. The Amarillo Destination extends to the border that Texas shares with New Mexico and Oklahoma and includes other cities such as Lubbock, Pamp, and Plainview.[1]

Land in the Amarillo Destination consists of relatively high amounts of helium, which has led the area to have a major helium plant, the Helium Time Column Monument, which was built in 1968.[8] There has been sizable economic development in the area; however, a significant amount of grassland remains untouched that is said to dominate the region. Lake Meridith is located in the destination, which is where the panhandle of Texas gets a large amount of its drinking water.[1] Within the region there are multiple types of wildlife such as bison, black-tailed prairie dog, lesser prairie chicken, mule deer, horned lizard, western diamondback rattlesnake, jackrabbit, and bobcat, to name a few.[9]

The region is considered to be located in a semi-arid climate. Weather in the Amarillo Destination is different based on the time of year but can experience blizzardous conditions, severe Arctic air outbreaks, tornadoes, flash flooding, hail storms, and high temperatures, usually during the summer months.[1] The hottest months of the year for the region fall between May to September, with high temperatures varying between 67 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit. Between late November and February, Amarillo tends to experience colder temperatures ranging between 26 to 51 degrees Fahrenheit on average. Throughout the year, the area has a comparatively high probability of receiving precipitation in the form of either rain or snow.[10]

History

Amarillo, Texas, was originally established under the name of Oneida but was eventually changed to Amarillo due to the geographical features in the surrounding area. The town was originally settled by J. I. Berry, in April of 1887, who chose the area for its well-watered section along the railroad. The settlers wanted to make the town the region’s main trading center, and later it won the county seat election in Potter County on August 30th, 1887. A railroad near the town was the leading factor in establishing Amarillo as the world’s busiest cattle-shipping point in the 1890s.[1]

Other boosts to the economy of the region were given by the discovery of natural gas in 1918 and oil a few years later, which led to an increase of oil and gas companies in the region.[1] The growth of the economy slowed when the Great Depression struck the United States but picked up speed again through underground water irrigation, which overall increased the agriculture in the area. Helium Time Column Monument was built in 1968, which is a relatively major helium plant.[8] Today the city is known as the “Rotor City, USA” because of the hybrid aircraft assembly plant in the area. The nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in the region is the only one in the United States.[3]

One of the most well-known things about the Amarillo Destination is that Route 66 runs through the land. Route 66 is one of the first national highways in the United States, which led it to become an icon in America.[8] Amarillo is even mentioned in a popular song named "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" by Bobby Troup. Other songs that mention the destination or are based on it include "Amarillo By Morning," "Is This The Way To Amarillo," "Two-Lane Blacktop," and "Brownsville Girl."[5]

Overall, the city of Amarillo has grown since first being established in 1887. The 1910 census reports that the population was 10,000 people. Now, the town has a current population of 199,935 people. It’s projected that Amarillo will have over 204,000 people within the next couple of years. The town has been recognized as the 16th largest city in Texas and 124th in the United States.[3]