Amarillo ( ;
Spanish for "
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...
") is a city in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into
Randall County. It is the
16th-most populous city in Texas and the most populous city in the
Texas panhandle. The estimated population of Amarillo was 200,393 as of April 1, 2020, comprising nearly half of the panhandle's population.
The Amarillo metropolitan area had an estimated population of 308,297 as of 2020.
The city of Amarillo, originally named Oneida, is situated in the
Llano Estacado
The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
region.
[Rathjen, Fredrick W. ''The Texas Panhandle Frontier'' (1973). pg. 11. The University of Texas Press. .] The availability of the railroad and freight service provided by the
Fort Worth and Denver Railway
The Fort Worth and Denver Railway , nicknamed "the Denver Road," was a Class I railroad, class I Rail transport in the United States, American railroad company that operated in the northern part of Texas from 1881 to 1982, and had a profound infl ...
contributed to the city's growth as a cattle-marketing center in the late 19th century.
[. Retrieved on January 25, 2007.]
Amarillo was once the
self-proclaimed
Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declar ...
"
Helium
Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...
Capital of the World" for having one of the country's most productive helium fields. The city is also known as "The Yellow Rose of Texas" (as the city takes its name from the Spanish word for yellow),
"Yellow City" for its name, and "Rotor City, USA" for its
V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport aircraft, military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed ...
hybrid aircraft assembly plant. Amarillo operates one of the largest
meat-packing areas in the United States.
Pantex, the only
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s assembly and disassembly facility in the country, is also a major employer. The location of this facility also gave rise to the nickname "Bomb City".
History
During April 1887, John T. Berry, from
Abilene, Texas
Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...
, established a site for a town, choosing a well-watered section along the
right-of-way of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway that was building across the Texas Panhandle. Barry and merchants from
Colorado City, Texas wanted to make his new townsite the region's main trading center. On August 30, 1887, the site won the election for a
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
to be established for Potter County. Availability of the railroad's
freight
In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...
service made the town a fast-growing
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
-marketing center.
The settlement originally was called Oneida; it later changed its name to Amarillo (the Spanish word for the color yellow). This probably had been suggested by yellow wildflowers that were plentiful during the spring and summer, or the nearby
Amarillo Lake and
Amarillo Creek, named in turn for the yellow soil along their banks and shores. Early residents originally pronounced the city's name more similar to the Spanish pronunciation , but it later was supplanted by the current pronunciation.
On June 19, 1888,
Henry B. Sanborn, who is given credit as the "Father of Amarillo", and his business partner
Joseph F. Glidden began buying land to move Amarillo to the east after arguing that Berry's site was on low ground and would flood during rainstorms. Sanborn offered to trade lots in the new location to businesses in the original city's site and help with the expense of moving to new buildings. His incentives gradually won over some people who moved their businesses to Polk Street in the new commercial district. Heavy rains almost flooded Berry's part of the town in 1889, prompting even more people to move to Sanborn's location. This eventually led to another county-seat election, which made Sanborn's site the new county seat in 1893.
By the late 1890s, Amarillo had emerged as one of the world's busiest cattle-shipping points, and its population grew significantly. The city became a
grain elevator, milling, and feed-manufacturing center after an increase in wheat and small grains production during the early 1900s. Discovery of
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
in 1918 and
oil three years later brought oil and gas companies to the Amarillo area.
The United States government bought the Cliffside Gas Field with high helium content in 1927 and the Federal Bureau of Mines began operating the Amarillo Helium plant two years later. The plant was the sole producer of commercial helium in the world for many years. The
U.S. National Helium Reserve is stored in the Bush Dome Reservoir at the Cliffside facility.

Amarillo was hit by the
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...
in the 1930's and entered an
economic depression
An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economic downturn that is the result of lowered economic activity in one or more major national economies. It is often understood in economics that economic crisis and the following recession ...
.
World War II led the establishment of Amarillo Army Air Field in east Amarillo and the nearby Pantex Army Ordnance Plant, which produced bombs and ammunition. After the end of the war, both of the facilities were closed. The Pantex Plant was reopened in 1950 and produced nuclear weapons throughout the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
.
In 1949, a deadly F4 tornado devastated much of Amarillo, shortly after nightfall on May 15, tearing through the south and east sides of the city, killing seven people, and injuring more than 80 others. The tornado touched down southwest of Amarillo, near Hereford, then tracked northward, on a collision course with Amarillo. The tornado, shortly after 8 pm, ripped through Amarillo's most densely populated areas, demolishing almost half of the city, and causing catastrophic damage and loss of life.
In 1951, the army air base was reactivated as
Amarillo Air Force Base and expanded to accommodate a
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic aircraft, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the ...
wing. The arrival of servicemen and their families ended the city's depression. Between 1950 and 1960, Amarillo's population grew from 74,443 to 137,969. However, the closure of Amarillo Air Force Base on December 31, 1968, contributed to a decrease in population to 127,010 by 1970. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Amarillo's population as 6.1% Hispanic and 88.5% non-Hispanic white.
In the 1980s,
ASARCO, Iowa Beef Processors (present-day
Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of broiler industry, chicken, beef, and pork after JBS ...
),
Owens-Corning
Owens Corning is an American company that develops and produces insulation, roofing, and fiberglass composites and related products. It is the world's largest manufacturer of fiberglass composites. It was formed in 1935 as a partnership between ...
, and
Weyerhaeuser
The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...
built plants at Amarillo. The Eastridge neighborhood houses many immigrants from countries such as
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
,
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
, and
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
, many finding employment at the nearby Iowa Beef Processors plant. The following decade, Amarillo's city limits encompassed in Potter and Randall Counties.
Interstate 27
Interstate 27 (I-27) is an Interstate Highway, entirely in the US state of Texas, running north from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock to Interstate 40 in Texas, I-40 in Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo. These two cities are the only control cities on I-27 ...
highway connecting
Lubbock to Amarillo was built mostly during the 1980s.
In May 1982, a strong F3 tornado struck Amarillo's western suburbs, devastating parts of Dawn, and Bushland. No fatalities were reported.
Following the lead of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway, predecessors of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
and
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.
At ...
had established services to and from Amarillo. These three carriers maintained substantial freight and passenger depots and repair facilities in the city through most of the 20th century and were major employers within the community.
U.S. Routes 60, 87, 287, and 66 intersect at Amarillo, making it a major tourist stop with numerous motels, restaurants, and curio shops.
Geography
Amarillo is located near the middle of the
Texas Panhandle. It does not share similar weather characteristics with
south
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and
east Texas
East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...
. It is situated in the grasslands of the Texas Panhandle and is surrounded by dense prairie. Amarillo is infamous for its unpredictable weather patterns, with broad daily temperature changes, raging winds, devastating hailstorms and "northers", long periods of drought, late frosts, spring tornadoes,
dust storms
A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transported ...
, and floods.
Though urbanization, agricultural farming, and construction have taken place over the last century in and around Amarillo, the native grasslands that dominate this region have remained largely untouched. The region's surface is relatively flat and has little soil drainage. Due to the lack of developed drainage, much of the rainfall either evaporates, infiltrates into the ground, or accumulates in
playa lakes.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , with of it land and of it (0.50%) covered by water. The Amarillo metropolitan area covers four counties:
Armstrong,
Carson, Potter, and Randall. Amarillo sits closer in proximity to the
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
,
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
state capitals than it does to
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
.
Flowing about northeast of Amarillo is the
Canadian River, which divides the
Western High Plains ecological region. The southern divide of the Western High Plains is the
Llano Estacado
The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
or Staked Plains geographical region. The river is dammed to form
Lake Meredith, a major source of drinking water in the Texas Panhandle region. The city is situated near the Panhandle Field, in a productive gas and oil area, covering in
Hartley, Potter,
Moore,
Hutchinson, Carson,
Gray
Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...
,
Wheeler, and
Collingsworth Counties. The Potter County portion had the nation's largest natural gas reserve. Approximately south of Amarillo is
Palo Duro Canyon. The tallest peak is reported to be underground in northeastern Potter County under the
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument.
Climate
Like most of the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo has a temperate
semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...
climate (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BSk''). Both the city and most of the county as a whole lie in
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7a. Amarillo is characterized by a winter season featuring large
diurnal temperature variation
In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day.
Temperature lag
Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...
, great day-to-day variability, possible sudden and/or severe Arctic air outbreaks (in Texas, called "blue northers"), possible
blizzard
A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...
s and hot summers with generally low humidity. The average annual precipitation is . Much of Amarillo's precipitation falls during heavy convective showers and thunderstorms during the late spring and summer months.
According to 'Cities Ranked and Rated' (Bert Sperling and Peter Sander), Amarillo averages 48 days per year during which thunder and lightning is reported. This is above the national average. These storms can be severe: Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle are situated in the western portion of "
Tornado Alley
Tornado Alley, also known as Tornado Valley, is a loosely defined location of the central United States and, in the 21st century, Canada where tornadoes are most frequent. The term was first used in 1952 as the title of a research project to st ...
" and are prone to severe weather events, occurring primarily between April and July. Severe thunderstorms can produce damaging straight-line winds, large hail, tornadoes, and flash flooding. Amarillo is no stranger to devastating tornadoes. Tornadoes have occurred in and around the city in 1968, 1970, 1982, 1986, 2001, 2007, and most recently in 2013, 2015 and 2016. The strongest tornado to ever hit Amarillo was a deadly F4 tornado that struck the city in the nighttime hours of May 15, 1949. Amarillo suffered a direct hit, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life in Amarillo's most densely populated areas. The tornado devastated the south and east sides of the city, killing 7 people, and injuring more than 80 others. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. Sunny weather prevails year-round, with nearly 3300 hours of bright sunshine annually. The
National Weather Service in Amarillo forecasts and provides climatic data for the city.
Extreme temperatures range from on
February 12, 1899 to on June 26, 2011, but lows do not typically dip to in most years, while highs above are seen on 4.7 days on average. On average, there are 5.9 days of lows at or below , 8.8 days where the temperature fails to rise above freezing, and 61 days of + highs. Unlike in the Rio Grande Valley or eastern portions of Texas, days where the low does not fall below are relatively rare, due to the aridity and elevation. Blizzards occur occasionally, but snowfall is typically light, averaging nearly seasonally and the median figure is near . Amarillo is also recorded as the windiest city in the U.S. by the Weather Channel.
;Notes:
Demographics

According to the
2020 United States census, there were 200,393 people, 76,778 households, and 50,005 families residing in the city, an increase of 5.1% since the 2010 United States census. At the
2010 U.S. census, there were 190,695 people residing in Amarillo, an increase of 9.8% since the
2000 U.S. census.
In 2020, there were 76,778 households with an average of 2.57 people per household.
Of the households, 60.8% lived in owner-occupied housing units and the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $140,030. The median homeowner costs with a mortgage were $1,272 and without a mortgage $479. Amarillo had a median gross rent of $876 from 2016 to 2020. Amarillo had a median household income of $52,941 and per capita income at $28,274. An estimated 15.4% of the population lived at or below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
.
In 2020, there were 78,706 occupied households, out of which 26,945 were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 4,327 had a female householder with no spouse present, and 1,858 were male householder, no spouse present. The age distribution of the city in 2020 was as follows: 7.6% of the population was under the age of 5, 26.8% was under the age of 18, 73.2% 18 and older, 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.1 years.
The median income for a household in the city was $52,941, and the median income for a family was $64,632. Married-couple families had a median income of $80,819, and non-family households had a median income of $31,663. About 15.4% of families were below the poverty line, including 20% of those under age 18, 14.1% ages 18 – 64, and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.
Religion
Part of the
Bible Belt
The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States and the Midwestern state of Missouri (which also has significant Southern influence), where evangelical Protestantism exerts a strong social and cultural influence. The region has been de ...
,
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
is the predominant religion in Amarillo and its metropolitan area. There are more than 200 churches in the area as of 2013.
According to
Sperling's BestPlaces
Bertrand T. Sperling was born in 1950 in Brooklyn, New York. He is an author and researcher. His books and studies on quality of life in America have made him "an internationally recognized expert in cities."
Work Studies
Sperling is commissi ...
in 2021, 77.83% of the population identified as religious, with 74.53% Christian. Baptists made up 40.2% of the Christian population and Catholics were 13.3% of the local population.
Methodists and
Pentecostals
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term ''Pentecostal'' is derived ...
were the next largest Christian groups, followed by
Presbyterians
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
,
Mormons
Mormons are a Religious denomination, religious and ethnocultural group, cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's d ...
,
Episcopalians or Anglicans, and
Lutherans
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
. Approximately 8.1% of the population were of a different Christian faith. In 2021, about 0.1% of Amarillo's residents identified with
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
and 2.1% were Muslim. An estimated 1.1% followed an Eastern religion such as
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
or
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
. Amarillo has a UU congregation but it does not host a Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagan chapter.
Economy
Amarillo is considered the regional economic center for the Texas Panhandle,
as well as Eastern
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and the Oklahoma Panhandle. The meat packing industry is a major employer in Amarillo; about one-quarter of the United States' beef supply is processed in the area. The city also holds the headquarters for the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. Petroleum extraction is also a major industry. The helium industry decreased in significance after the federal government privatized local operations in the late 1990s.
Bell Helicopter Textron opened a
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
assembly plant near the city's international airport in 1999.
The city's largest employer in 2005 was Tyson Foods, with 3,700 employees. The
Amarillo Independent School District was next with 3,659 employees followed by Pantex, Baptist St. Anthony's Health Care System, City of Amarillo, Northwest Texas Healthcare System,
Amarillo College, Walmart, and
United Supermarkets.
Other major employers include Bell Helicopter Textron, Owens-Corning,
Amarillo National Bank and
ASARCO.
Approximately of agricultural land surrounds the city with
corn
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
,
wheat
Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
, and
cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
as the primary crops. Other crops in the area include
sorghum
''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...
,
silage
Silage is fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation (food), fermentation to the point of souring. It is fed to cattle, sheep and other ruminants. The fermentation and storage process is called ''ensilage'', ' ...
,
hay, and
soybean
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed.
Soy is a key source o ...
s. The Texas Panhandle, particularly in
Hereford, Texas
Hereford ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Deaf Smith County, Texas, United States. It is 48 miles southwest of Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo. Its population was 14,972 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the only incorporated ...
, serves as a fast-growing milk producing area as several multimillion-dollar state of the art dairies were built in the early 2000s.
The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), funded by a city sales tax, provides aggressive incentive packages to existing and prospective employers. In the mid-to-late 1990s, the AEDC gained notoriety by sending mock checks to businesses across the country, placing full-page advertisements in ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', and paying an annual $1 million subsidy to
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
to retain jet service. The AEDC is largely responsible for bringing Bell Helicopter Textron's development of the V-22 Osprey hybrid aircraft and the future site of
Marine One
Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president of the United States. As of 2024, it is most frequently applied to a presidential transport helicopter operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX ...
assembly in Amarillo.
From 2020 to 2021, Amarillo experienced its greatest amount of economic development in 30 years.
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
, Asset Protection Unit, and
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
Vet School were named some major organizations contributing to the city and metropolitan area's economic growth. Through the
COVID-19 pandemic in Texas
The COVID-19 pandemic in Texas is a part of the ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The state of Texas confirmed its ...
, the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce announced a new initiative to help local businesses rebound from the pandemic. Its tourism industry also rebounded.
Arts and culture
Several natural attractions are near the city. The
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo and Canyon, Texas, Canyon. The second largest canyon system in the United States, it is roughly long and ha ...
is the United States' second largest canyon system, after the
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile ().
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...
and is located south of Amarillo. The canyon is a prominent mountain biking destination and hosts the annual 50-mile Palo Duro Canyon Trail Run. Palo Duro has a distinct
hoodoo that resembles a lighthouse. Another natural landmark near the city, the
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is located north of Amarillo. It had been the site for prehistoric inhabitants to obtain
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
in order to make tools and weapons. About southeast of Amarillo in
Briscoe County is
Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, the state park is the home of the official Texas State
Bison
A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised.
Of the two surviving species, the American ...
Herd captured and taken care of by cattle rancher Charles Goodnight.
Local millionaire
Stanley Marsh 3 funded many public art projects in the city including the
Cadillac Ranch, located west of Amarillo on
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...
, a monument of painted
Cadillac
Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...
automobiles that were dug into the ground head first. Marsh also participated in an ongoing art project called the Dynamite Museum, which consists of thousands of mock
traffic sign
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduc ...
s. These signs, bearing messages such as "Road does not end" or displaying a random picture, are scattered throughout the city of Amarillo. Besides these works, close to the city is the final earthwork of
Robert Smithson
Robert Smithson (January 2, 1938 – July 20, 1973) was an American artist known for sculpture and land art who often used drawing and photography in relation to the spatial arts. His work has been internationally exhibited in galleries and mu ...
(and another commission by Marsh), ''Amarillo Ramp''.
The city has events and attractions honoring the
cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
and Texas culture. During the third week of September, the Tri-State Fair & Rodeo brings participants mostly from Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas to Amarillo since 1921. On the Tri-State Exposition grounds, the
Amarillo National Center is a special events center for events ranging from national
equestrian competitions to
motor sports
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...
and
rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
s. The World Championship Ranch Rodeo sponsored by the
Working Ranch Cowboys Association
The Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRCA) was established in 1995 in Amarillo, Texas, United States, as a professional association for ranch owners, foremen, and cowboys. One of their stated goals was to keep the western heritage, ideals, and w ...
is held every November in the
Amarillo Civic Center.
The Amarillo Livestock Auction on Bull Road holds a free-to-the-public cattle auction on Tuesdays. Now located on Interstate 40, The Big Texan Steak Ranch is famous by offering visitors a free 72
ounce
The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight, or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement.
The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States ...
(2 kg) beef steak if it (and its accompanying dinner) is eaten in under an hour.
Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, opened in 2006, houses the Amarillo Opera, Amarillo Symphony, an
Lone Star Balletconcerts. The facility, located just across the Amarillo Civic Center, features a 1,300-seat auditorium. The Globe-News Center was built in hope by city officials and others that it would revitalize the downtown area. The nonprofit
community theater
Community theatre refers to any Theatre, theatrical performance made in relation to particular Community, communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a communit ...
group, Amarillo Little Theatre, has its season run from September to May. The theater group's two facilities, the Mainstage and the Adventure Space, are located west of Amarillo's downtown. The Pioneer
Amphitheater
An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...
, located in nearby Palo Duro Canyon, is the setting for the outdoor musical drama ''Texas,'' which plays nightly during the summer. The musical depicts a story about the history of Texas Panhandle settlers throughout the years. In 2002, the
producers changed its name to ''Texas Legacies'' after retiring the previous script that was used for 37 years for a more historically accurate one, but attendance declined over the next four seasons, so it was decided to revert to the original
Paul Green script in 2006.
The Amarillo Public Library is affiliated with the Harrington Library Consortium. The consortium consists of public, college, and school libraries located in the Texas Panhandle that share resources and cooperate with one another. Other members include Amarillo's public schools, Amarillo College, Canyon Area Library, Lovett Memorial Library in
Pampa, Texas, and Hutchinson County Library in
Borger, Texas. The Amarillo Public Library's main branch is located in downtown and operates four neighborhood branches.
Wonderland Amusement Park is located in northern Amarillo at Thompson Park, named for Ernest Thompson. The park also houses the Amarillo
zoo and offers
picnicking.
Amarillo residents are known as
Amarilloans. Notable Amarilloans include actress
Ann Doran (1911–2000), journalist
Bascom N. Timmons, the
Dory Funk
Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion.
Earl ...
wrestling family, former
UFC Champions
Heath Herring and
Evan Tanner
Evan Lloyd Tanner (February 11, 1971 – September 5, 2008) was an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a former UFC Middleweight Champion and was the first American to win the Pancrase Neo-Blood tournament in Tokyo, ...
, astronaut
Rick Husband, professional golfer Ryan Palmer, rockabilly pioneer
Buddy Knox
Buddy Wayne Knox (July 20, 1933 – February 14, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, best known for his 1957 rock & roll hit song, " Party Doll".
Early life
Knox was born on July 20, 1933 in the tiny farming community of Happy, Texas, ...
, actress
Carolyn Jones, actress and dancer
Cyd Charisse, actor and poet
Harry Northup,
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
History
There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
Max Sherman,
Republican state chairman
Tom Mechler, politicians
Beau Boulter and
John Marvin Jones, businessman
T. Boone Pickens, Jr., singer-songwriter
JD Souther, gambler Thomas "
Amarillo Slim
Thomas Austin Preston Jr. (December 31, 1928 – April 29, 2012), known as Amarillo Slim, was an American professional gambler known for his poker skills and proposition bets. He won the 1972 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and was indu ...
" Preston, soldier and interior decorator
Clyde Kenneth Harris, and music artist and composer
Terry Stafford ("Amarillo by Morning"; "Suspicion"). Singer
Lacey Brown of Amarillo advanced to the top 24 in season 8 on the hit show ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
''. She returned to the show again in season 9 and advanced to the top 12 but was eliminated from the program on March 17, 2010. Former residents
Evander "Ziggy" Hood and
Montrel Meander are in the National Football League.
Museums and art collections
The
American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to ...
breed. The organization is headquartered in Amarillo and has a museum. There is also an
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame exhibited in the museum. In addition, the AQHA and Center City of Amarillo co-sponsor the project, "Hoof Prints of the American Quarter Horse" consisting of horse statues located in front of several Amarillo businesses, such as the downtown Amarillo National building, Nationwide Insurance, and Edward Jones. An area business would purchase a horse statue for a local artist to paint.
Two of the Amarillo area's higher education institutions have at least one museum in their campuses. The Amarillo Art Cente
opened in 1972, is a building complex with the
Amarillo Museum of Art (AMoA)
and concert hall located on the Washington Street Campus of Amarillo College. Located on the campus of West Texas A&M University, the
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum claims to be the largest historical museum in Texas.
Don Harrington Discovery Center, located in the city's hospital district, is an interactive science center and space theater with over 60 hands-on exhibits. Outside of the building is a steel structure called the Helium Monument which has time capsules and designates Amarillo the "Helium Capital of the World".
Near the proximity of the Discovery Center, the
Amarillo Botanical Gardens has gardens, indoor exhibits, and a library for visitation throughout the year.
Th
Texas Pharmacy Museumclaims to be the only Texas museum specialized in the research, collection, preservation, and exhibition of the history of pharmacy, is also located in the city's hospital district.
Founded in 2013, by businessman Tom Warren, The Amarillo Historical Museum is Amarillo's only local museum exclusively featuring local history.
Other notable museums in the area are the Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum and the
English Field Air & Space Museum. The Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum features a collection of
Native American artifacts and provides dance performances. The English Field Air & Space Museum, which had been operated by the Texas Aviation Historical Society and featured aircraft and space exhibits, closed its doors in 2007 and subsequently lost many of its aircraft. The museum, now rebuilding its collection as Texas Air & Space Museum, is located on American Drive on the south side of the airport.
Cityscape
Most of Amarillo's population growth and commercial development is occurring in the southern and northwestern parts of the city. Similar to many towns in the Texas Panhandle, the city's downtown has suffered economic deterioration throughout the years. To help revitalize it, the Center City of Amarillo organization was formed to establish partnerships with groups that have a large presence in the city. Since its conception in the 1990s, Center City has sponsored public art projects and started block parties in the downtown area.
The 31-story
FirstBank Southwest Tower was opened in Amarillo's downtown in 1971. Completed in the same year as the FirstBank Southwest Tower, the Amarillo National Bank Plaza One building houses the headquarters of
Amarillo National Bank, the city's largest financial institution. The
Santa Fe Building, completed in 1930 as the regional office of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, was vacant for several years until 1995 when Potter County bought it for $426,000 to gain new office spaces.
Amarillo's historic homes and buildings listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
reflect the economic growth from around 1900 to the start of World War II. Polk Street contains many of the city's historic downtown buildings and homes. The large historic homes on this street were built close to downtown, and homes were located on the west side of the street as a symbol of status because they would be greeted with the sunrise every morning.
The city of Amarillo's Parks and Recreation Department operates over 50 municipal parks, including a
skatepark
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...
west of the city. Amarillo's largest parks are Medical Park, Thompson Memorial Park, and Memorial Park, near Amarillo College's Washington Street Campus. From 1978 to 2002, the
Junior League of Amarillo and the city of Amarillo's Parks and Recreation Department co-sponsored Funfest, a family entertainment festival, benefiting the city parks and the league's Community Chest Trust Fund. Funfest was held in Thompson Memorial Park during
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May.
It i ...
weekend.
Tallest buildings
Sports
The
National Arena League
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams.
A team's typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, but as of the 2022 ...
team
Amarillo Dusters, the
Major League Indoor Soccer team the Amarillo Bombers and the
NAHL Jr. A hockey team, the
Amarillo Bulls all play in the
Amarillo Civic Center. Amarillo previously hosted an independent league baseball team, the
Amarillo Thunderheads of the
American Association, which played its home games in
Potter County Memorial Stadium from 2011 to 2015. The city was the home of the
Double-A Amarillo Gold Sox Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
team of the
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
various years between 1939 and 1982. In 2019, the Texas League's
San Antonio Missions
The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...
relocated to Amarillo as the
Amarillo Sod Poodles
The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtow ...
and play at the $45.5 million
Hodgetown. Amarillo formerly had a minor league indoor soccer team called the Amarillo Challengers that competed in the
SISL
The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...
and later the
USISL
The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...
.
West Texas A&M University features a full slate of
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...
teams;
Amarillo College is in a different division than West Texas A&M, however, playing in the NJCAA division 2 bracket. From 1968 to 1996, Amarillo hosted the annual
National Women's Invitational Tournament
The National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) was a post-season tournament for women's intercollegiate basketball programs that was contested from 1969 to 1996. The original sponsorship information appears to have been lost over the ensuin ...
(NWIT), a post-season women's
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
tournament. During high school football season, the Amarillo Independent School District schools' home games are in
Dick Bivins Stadium which had a $5,700,000 renovation in 2005. Randall High School (part of the adjacent Canyon Independent School District) plays its home games in
Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in Canyon, in addition to the yearly Clinton Invitational horseshoe tournament. River Road, Highland Park, and Bushland High Schools also play football and other sports.
Another part of Amarillo's sporting history was its roots in
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
. Amarillo residents Dory Funk, Stanley Blackburn and
Doc Sarpolis promoted the territory for several decades. Funk's sons,
Dory Funk, Jr. and
Terry Funk
Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential
and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...
, were
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
World Heavyweight Champions representing Amarillo.
Government
Local government
In 1913, Amarillo became the first Texas city and the fifth in United States to use the
council-manager form of municipal government, with all governmental powers resting in a
legislative body
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...
, called a council (before 2014, it was called a commission). Five elected commissioners, one of whom is the mayor, comprise the council. All serve a two-year term. The commission's role is to pass ordinances and resolutions, adopt regulations, and appoint city officials including the
city manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...
. Although the mayor serves as a presiding officer of the commission, the city manager is the administrative head of the municipal government and is responsible for the administration of all departments. The city commission meets on Tuesday of each week.
*
Warren W. Wetsel, 1892–1894
* R. L. Stringfellow, 1899–1902
* S. Lightburne, 1902–1906
* Will A. Miller, Jr., 1906–1908
* Lon D. Marrs, 1908–1910 and 1917–1922
* James N. Patton, 1910–1912
* W. E. Gee, 1912–1913
* J. N. Beasley, 1913–1916
* Eugene S. Blasdel, 1923–1924
* Lee Bivins, 1925–1928
*
Ernest O. Thompson, 1929–1932
* Ross D. Rogers, 1932–1941
* Joe A. Jenkins, 1941–1947
* L. R. Hagy, 1947–1949
* E. H. Klein, 1949–1953
* S. T. Curtis, 1953–1955
* R. C. Jordan, 1955–1957
* J. R. Armstrong, 1957–1959
* A. F. Madison, 1959–1961
* Jack Seale, 1961–1963
* F. V. Wallace, 1963–1967
* J. Ernest Stroud, 1967–1971
* L. Ray Vahue, 1971–1975
* John C. Drummond, 1975–1977
* Jerry H. Hodge, 1977–1981
* R. P. (Rick) Klein, 1981–1987
* Glen Parkey, 1987–1989
* Keith Adams, 1989–1993
*
Kel Seliger, 1993–2001
*
Trent Sisemore, 2001–2005
* Debra McCartt, 2005–2011
*
Paul Harpole, 2011–2017
* Ginger Nelson, 2017–2023
* Cole Stanley, 2023–Present
County, state, and federal representation
As the seat of Potter County, the city is the location of the county's trial, civil, and criminal courts. The Randall County Amarillo Annex building is located within the city limits and houses its Sheriff's Office and Justice of the Peace Court, Precinct 4.
The
Texas Seventh Court of Appeals is located in Amarillo.
The
Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Amarillo District Parole Office in the city. It also operates the
Clements Unit and
Nathaniel J. Neal Unit in
unincorporated Potter County, east of Amarillo.
[Clements (BC)]
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on June 23, 2013. "Unit Address and Phone Number: 9601 Spur 591, Amarillo, TX 79107-9606"
The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates the Amarillo Main Post Office. Other post offices in the city include Downtown Amarillo, Jordan, Lone Star, North Amarillo, and San Jacinto.
In the
U.S. House, Amarillo is located in
Texas's 13th congressional district, and is represented by Representative
Ronny Jackson
Ronny Lynn Jackson (born May 4, 1967) is an American physician, politician, and former United States Navy officer who has served as the U.S. representative for since 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, his ...
. In the
Texas Legislature
The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...
, the city is in the 31st District in the Texas Senate, represented by
Republican Kevin Sparks, of Midland. It is in the 87th District in the Texas House of Representatives, having been represented by Republican
David A. Swinford since 1991. Swinford retired in January 2011 and was succeeded by fellow Republican
Four Price. The sliver of Amarillo within Randall County is represented by Price's Republican colleague,
John T. Smithee, who has served in the 86th District since 1985.
Education

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 23.3% of all adults aged 25 and older have obtained a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
, and 85% a high school diploma or equivalent.
The higher-education institutions in the city are
Amarillo College, a two-year
community college
A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...
with over 10,000 students;
Wayland Baptist University
Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, six states, American Samoa, and K ...
, a private university based in
Plainview with a branch campus in Amarillo;
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wi ...
at Amarillo including the Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy,
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wi ...
at Amarillo School of Medicine and School of Health Professions and
Texas Tech University at Amarillo, a branch campus of Texas Tech University that offers selected
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
programs.
West Texas A&M University, a regional university headquartered in nearby
Canyon
A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...
, has a campus building in downtown Amarillo.
Amarillo's primary and secondary education is handled by five different school districts:
*
Amarillo ISD
*
Bushland ISD
*
Canyon ISD
*
Highland Park ISD
*
River Road ISD
Media

The major local newspaper is the ''
Amarillo Globe-News'', owned by
GateHouse Media
GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group ...
. It is a combination of three newspapers: ''Amarillo Daily News'', ''Amarillo Globe'', and ''Amarillo Times''. Other publications include a local monthly
magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
, ''Accent West'', dealing with city and regional issues in the Amarillo area , and a daily online paper, ''The Amarillo Pioneer.'' The American Quarter Horse Association publishes two monthly publications, ''The American Quarter Horse Journal'' and ''The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal''. HISPANIC Newspaper El Mensajero owned by Dr. Ramon Godoy started printing in 1989.
Amarillo's major network
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
affiliates are
KACV-TV 2 (
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
),
KAMR 4 (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
),
KVII 7 (
ABC, with
The CW
The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
on DT2),
KFDA 10 (
CBS),
KCIT 14 (
Fox), and
KCPN-LD 33 (
MyNet). In the 2005–2006 television season Amarillo was the 131st largest television
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
*Marketing, the act of sat ...
in the United States designated by
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
.
Amarillo is the 168th largest United States radio market in autumn 2005 designated by the
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
audience research company,
Arbitron
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
. Arbitron rated the five highest-rated commercial radio stations in Fall 2012/Spring 2013 as:
#
KXGL-FM − 100.9 FM-
Classic Hits
#
KGNC-FM − 97.9 FM-
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
#
KGNC − 710 AM-
News/Talk
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...
/
Sports
Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
#
KXSS-FM − 96.9 FM-
Top 40/CHR
#
KQIZ-FM − 93.1 FM-
Rhythmic Top 40/CHR
The regional public radio network, High Plains Public Radio, operates KJJP-FM 105.7. Other notable radio stations around the area include the
college stations KACV-FM 89.9 (Amarillo College),
Active Rock KZRK-FM (107.9), and
KWTS-FM 91.1 (West Texas A&M University) in nearby Canyon.
Infrastructure
Air transportation
Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport is a
public airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
located east of the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
of Amarillo, north of Interstate 40. A portion of the former
Amarillo Air Force Base was converted to civilian use and became part of the airport. The airport is named after
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
astronaut
Rick Husband, an Amarillo native and commander of the final flight of
Space Shuttle ''Columbia'',
STS-107, which
disintegrated on re-entry killing Husband and his crewmates. Several major air carriers offer non-stop service to
Dallas/Fort Worth,
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
,
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
Phoenix and
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
.
Tradewind Airport is a public-use
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
airport located in Randall County, south of Amarillo's central business district. The airport covers and has two
asphalt
Asphalt most often refers to:
* Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete
* Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
-paved runways and one
helipad
A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface.
While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...
.
Buffalo Airport is a public-use general aviation airport located in Randall County, south of Amarillo's central business district. The airport covers and has two grass runways.
Ground transportation
Local transit services in the city have been available since 1925 and have been provided through the City of Amarillo's
Amarillo City Transit (ACT) department since 1966; before that time the system was privately owned. ACT operates bus services that include fixed route transit and demand response
paratransit
Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...
which are designed for people with disabilities. Each year ACT transports approximately 350,000 passengers on the fixed route and 30,000 paratransit passengers.
Amarillo has no passenger rail service but remains an important part of the rail freight system. The last passenger train out of the city was the
Santa Fe Railroad
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at variou ...
's ''
San Francisco Chief,'' from
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, in 1971. The ''
Texas Zephyr
The ''Texas Zephyr'' was a List of named passenger trains, named train, passenger train operated by the Colorado & Southern Railway and the Fort Worth & Denver Railway (both subsidiaries of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad). The train wa ...
'' between
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
and
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
last served Amarillo in 1967.
The
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
complex in Amarillo continues to serve a heavy daily traffic load, approximately 100–110 trains per day. The
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
also sends substantial shipments to or through Amarillo. In addition to intermodal and general goods, a big portion of rail shipments are of grains and coal. There have been various proposals over the years to add passenger service. One, the ''
Caprock Chief'', would have seen daily service as part of a Fort Worth, Texas—Denver, Colorado service, but it failed to gain traction.

The streets in Amarillo's downtown area conform to a
grid pattern
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at Angle#Types of angles, right angles to each other, forming a wikt:grid, grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, fr ...
. The city's original street layout was set up by William H. Bush. Beginning at the west end of the town moving to the east, Bush named the north to south streets for past
United States presidents, in chronological order except for
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...
because the surname had been taken by the second president,
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
. The last president so honored was
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...
; as the city expanded eastward the pattern was not continued.
While the streets running north–south are designated 'streets', east–west streets are numbered and are designated 'avenues'. North of the Fort Worth & Denver (now BNSF) railyard, the numbers are "NW" (northwest) west of Polk Street and "NE" (northeast) east of Polk. South of the railyard (including the downtown-city center area), numbers are officially "SW" (southwest) west of Polk, and "SE" (southeast) east of Polk. Colloquially, though, most tend to dub the SW and SE avenues as W (west) and E (east), respectively. One example of the numbering difference is the former U.S. Highway 66 routing west of downtown and into the San Jacinto neighborhood. Most call it 'West Sixth Street' instead of SW Sixth Avenue.
In 1910, the Amarillo voters had approved to pay for street paving with
brick
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
s. As of 2003, the city still has of brick streets in some parts of the downtown area. In 2002, the city spent $200,000 to restore one block of brick street on Ninth Avenue between Polk and Tyler streets.
Major highways
Amarillo is served by two interstate highways:
I-27 and
I-40. Amarillo is also the northern terminus for I-27, of which less than one mile (~1.6 km) is located in Potter County. The highway terminates at the city's main west–east highway, Interstate 40, just north of the Potter–Randall county line. The roadway continues northward into downtown Amarillo via U.S.
60,
87, and
287, via a series of four one-way streets including Buchanan, Pierce, Fillmore and Taylor. North of downtown the highway becomes US 87 & 287 and continues northward to
Dumas.
Interstate 40, the city's major east–west thoroughfare, was completed entirely through Amarillo in November 1968 across the center of the city.
Previously,
Route 66 had been the city's major east–west highway, generally following Amarillo Boulevard to the north of the downtown area and then curving southwest to leave the city near the Veterans Hospital. A city route (which had been an original alignment of US 66 through central and west Amarillo) followed Fillmore south into the downtown area and turned on West 6th through the San Jacinto Heights district (now now home to many antique shops, restaurants and other businesses), passing the Amarillo Country Club and veering onto West 9th Street and Bushland Boulevard before tying into the through route at a traffic circle near the Veterans Hospital.
Loop 335 circles around Amarillo in all four directions and consists of four-lane roadway on its northeast and southwest quadrants and two-lane paving to the southeast and northwest.
Amarillo is also mentioned in the song "
Route 66".
Future freeways
In 2015, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) published the plans for the all new
Loop 335 freeway that encircles the city of Amarillo. TxDOT has planned multiple multi-level interchanges that intersect with
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...
,
Interstate 27
Interstate 27 (I-27) is an Interstate Highway, entirely in the US state of Texas, running north from Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock to Interstate 40 in Texas, I-40 in Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo. These two cities are the only control cities on I-27 ...
, and U.S.
287 and
87. The first interchange, on the East side of Amarillo, is a multi-level interchange that provides access to both directions of the I-40 Expressway and Loop 335. On the northern side of Amarillo, the loop will be completely reconstructed to an Interstate-Grade freeway with complete grade separations and will be expanded to four lanes. It also includes a stack interchange that will connect the new freeway to the future I-27
Ports to Plains Corridor (Highway 287, 87).
I-27 in Southern Amarillo will be entirely reconstructed from Buffalo Stadium Rd. at the Canyon E-Way Interchange to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. It will accommodate six lanes at the mainlane bridge along with a complete stack interchange with direct connectors to and from I-27. Furthermore, another triple-level interchange will be built to accommodate Soncy Road, Helium Road, I-27 and the new loop.
Also, another new mainlane bridge that accommodates up to six lanes is also in the works for I-40 near Helium Rd. providing easier access to the new freeway. Although construction started in 2016, the entire project, which includes converting the entire loop to Interstate Specifications, was not expected to be complete until 2024.
Medical centers and hospitals

Amarillo is home to medical facilities including Baptist St. Anthony's and Northwest Texas Hospitals, the Don & Sybil Harrington Cancer Center, Bivins Memorial Nursing Home, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Texas Tech School of Pharmacy, and Texas Panhandle Mental Health and Mental Retardation. All are located in the Harrington Regional Medical Center, the first specifically designated city hospital district in Texas.
Baptist St. Anthony's, known locally as BSA, had some of its services listed on the ''
U.S. News & World Report''s "Top 50 Hospitals" from 2002 to 2005. BSA was a result of a 1996 merger between the Texas Panhandle's first hospital, St Anthony's, with High Plains Baptist Hospital. The BSA Hospice & Life Enrichment Center provides important services to the Amarillo area. The BSA facility, opened in 1985, was the first free-standing hospice west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
to be built and opened without debt.

Northwest Texas Hospital is home to the area's only Level III designated trauma center.
The
Thomas E. Creek Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center is located east of Harrington Regional Medical Center. The facility opened in 1940 and was renamed in 2005, honoring the 18-year-old Amarillo Marine who had been posthumously awarded the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
. Construction began in 2006 for a new Texas State Veterans Home in northwest Amarillo. The United States government, through the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, provided the funding to build the facility; the Texas government will run it after construction is completed. The Ussery-Roan Texas State Veterans Home opened in 2007.
Utilities
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...
is provided by the City of Amarillo and its Utilities Division. Amarillo's water supply used to come from both from
Lake Meredith and the
Ogallala Aquifer
The Ogallala Aquifer () is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States.
As one of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately in po ...
. Due to the lake's low water level, water is now only supplied by the aquifer. Lake Meredith is located northeast of Amarillo and in 2005 it contained at least of water. By 2011, lake levels had dropped so much due to the Texas drought that the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority voted to stop using it entirely. However, increased rainfall in recent years has helped the lake regain much of its volume. Generally, the city's daily water production averages between .
Collection and disposal of the city's trash and garbage are the responsibilities of the City of Amarillo's Solid Waste Collection and Solid Waste Disposal Departments. Amarillo's non-hazardous solid waste is collected for burial in the city's
landfill
A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...
. The City of Amarillo also operates recycling collection centers, one located near the downtown area and four at fire stations in the city. Other utilities are primarily provided by private organizations. Natural gas is distributed by
Atmos Energy. Electric power service is distributed by
Xcel Energy, through its wholly owned subsidiary, the Amarillo-based Southwestern Public Service Company. Wired telephone service is mainly provided by
AT&T
AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
. Cable television is primarily provided by
Suddenlink Communications.
In popular culture
Outside media attention
The city gained national media attention in 1998 when local cattlemen unsuccessfully sued television talk show host
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
for comments made on
her show connecting American beef to
mad cow disease
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of th ...
, costing them and their industry millions of dollars. In order to attend the trial in Amarillo, she temporarily relocated her show to the Amarillo Little Theatre for nearly a year. During the trial, Winfrey hired Dallas-based jury consultant
Phil McGraw
Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), also known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author who is best known for hosting the talk show '' Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased ...
to aid her attorneys on selecting and analyzing the members of the jury. McGraw would later become a regular guest on Winfrey's television show and subsequently started his own talk show, ''
Dr. Phil'', in 2002.
Another notable trial in Amarillo was the
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
-area murder case of
T. Cullen Davis, which involved one of the richest men in the United States, his former wife, and her daughter and boyfriend. The trial was moved from Fort Worth to Amarillo in 1977 on a change of venue. The 1997 murder of
Brian Deneke and subsequent trial also brought national attention because it highlighted social divisions in the community that mirrored those in America as a whole. The defendant in the trial was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and received a light sentence. The movie
Bomb City is based on the events surrounding Deneke's murder.
The small town of
Tulia, Texas
Tulia is a city in and the county seat of Swisher County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,967 at the 2010 census; by the 2020 census, it had fallen to 4,473. The city is at the junction of U.S. Route 87 and Texas State Highway 86, ...
, approximately south from Amarillo, was the scene of a controversial drug sting in 1999. Local civil rights attorney Jeff Blackburn took up the case of the Tulia defendants, which became a ''
cause célèbre
A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...
'' and resulted in the exoneration and pardon of the defendants. A federal lawsuit directed at the officials responsible for the sting operation was held in Amarillo. In the final settlement, the City of Amarillo agreed to pay $5 million in damages to the former Tulia defendants; disband the Panhandle Regional Narcotics Task Force that it set up to oversee the sting operation; and require early retirement for two Amarillo Police Department officers who were responsible for supervising the sting's sole undercover agent.
On May 5, 2020, Amarillo ranked 13th in the nation for Highest Average Daily Growth Rate of COVID-19 cases by the New York Times.
In music
Amarillo has been mentioned in popular music such as
* "
Amarillo" (
Gorillaz
Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...
)
* "
Amarillo by Morning" (notably covered by
George Strait
George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer.
Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...
)
* "
Amarillo Sky" (
Jason Aldean
Jason Aldine Williams (born February 28, 1977), known professionally as Jason Aldean, is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released eleven alb ...
)
* "
Blame It on Texas" (
Mark Chesnutt)
* "
Brownsville Girl" (
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
, who refers to Amarillo as the "land of the living dead")
* "
(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" (
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
)
* "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me" (
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
and
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...
, featured in ''
Rio Bravo'' and later in several episodes of ''
The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
'')
* "A Quick Death In Texas" (
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
)
* "Running Gun" (
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...
)
* "Two Lane Blacktop" (
Rob Zombie
Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live show ...
)
Tony Christie's 1971 cover of "
Is This the Way to Amarillo", written by
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...
and
Howard Greenfield, topped the
UK Singles Chart for seven weeks in 2005, breaking the record for the longest time taken for a song to top the UK Singles Chart after its original release set by
Jackie Wilson's "
Reet Petite" in December 1986. Christie's record was broken 16 years later when "
Last Christmas" by
Wham!
Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...
topped the UK Singles Chart in January 2021, 36 years and 1 month after its original release (a record subsequently broken in June 2022 when "
Running Up That Hill" by
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...
topped the chart 36 years and 10 months after it originally entered the chart).
In film and television
The Amarillo Film Commission is a division of the Amarillo Convention and Visitor Council that was created to provide film crews with locations and other assistance when filming in Amarillo. Amarillo was the setting for several motion pictures, including ''
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jone ...
'', ''
Switchback'', and ''The Plutonium Circus'', the 1995
South by Southwest Film Festival winner for best documentary feature. Amarillo also features heavily in the ''
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American legal crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for AMC. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–201 ...
''
episode of the same name, the third of the show's second season, in which protagonist
Jimmy McGill visits the city to solicit clients.
See also
*
U.S. Route 66-Sixth Street Historic District
*
List of museums in the Texas Panhandle
*
List of notable people from Amarillo, Texas
*
Teel Bivins
References
Further reading
* An illustrated history of the Queen City of the Texas Panhandle.
External links
City of AmarilloAmarillo Chamber of Commerce
{{Good article
Cities in Amarillo metropolitan area
Cities in Potter County, Texas
Cities in Randall County, Texas
Cities in Texas
County seats in Texas
Populated places established in 1887