Located in the center of the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo offers all the conveniences of big city living in a friendly and small town atmosphere. The Amarillo area has much to offer residents and tourists alike. From the beauty of Palo Duro Canyon to our quality educational system, from restaurants to a variety of recreational activities, Amarillo is certain to have something to offer almost everyone.
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city in Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter county. A portion of the city extends into Randall County.
Starting about a million years ago a branch of the Red River carved a massive canyon through the northern Texas plains. The walls of the Palo Duro Canyon plunge down to 1,000ft at points, exposing the multi-layered colored rock strata. The colors are particularly brightly picked out on the spires and pinnacles that the forces of nature have carved out on the canyon floor. The Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a few miles east of Amarillo, reached via Texas 217 highway. The park offers picnic and camping facilities, a visitor's center with a shop, an amphitheater where shows are staged, and horseback riding trips. The park also has a famous historic site where the last great battle between troops and Indians took place in Texas. In 1874 Colonel Ranald Mackenzie and his 4th Cavalry defeated a large band of Native Americans camped in the canyon and transported them to reservations in Oklahoma.
Amarillo has the world's largest natural gas development and provides pipelines to many large cities and thousands of towns connecting through to the Atlantic seaboard. The world's second largest gas field is also being developed in this area. Natural gas and petroleum discoveries have given rise to a number of the city's major industries which produce carbon black, petro-chemicals and helium. Zinc smelting brought economic advantages when it entered the Amarillo industry picture in 1992.
Approaching Amarillo from the west on the 1-40 highway visitors will come across one of America's most noted roadside attractions, conceived and funded by an eccentric local man, helium tycoon Stanley Marsh 3. The Cadillac Ranch consists of 10 finned vintage Cadillac cars, buried nose first in a field about 12 miles from the town. They have been buried, allegedly, at the same angle as the angle of the sides of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Marsh doesn't seem to mind the ever-increasing amount of graffiti that is spray painted onto the cars by visitors.
Focussing on physical, earth and life sciences the Don Harrington Discovery Center is set in a 51-acre park with a lake and picnic area. The center boasts more than 100 hands-on activities and a recently renovated Space Theater. There is also an aquarium on site featuring both saltwater and freshwater tanks as well as a botanical garden. Most popular sights here are a Foucault Pendulum, rotating independently of the earth's gravitational pull, a helium technology exhibit and a weather-watch section with a tornado machine.
The Texas Panhandle's one and only accredited art museum is the Amarillo Museum of Art. The museum has six galleries housing a permanent collection that includes 17th through 19th century European paintings, 20th century modernists, photography, Asian art and Middle Eastern textiles. The museum also offers frequently changing exhibits ranging from contemporary art to the American and European masters.
Housing Cost
Estimated median house or condo value in 2007: $97,000
Demographics
Population in July 2007: 186,106. Amarillo covers 89.9 square miles.
Area code: 806
Weather
Amarillo, TX climate is warm during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 70's and very cold during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 30's.
The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 91.00 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of 22.60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperature variations between night and day tend to be moderate during summer with a difference that can reach 25 degrees Fahrenheit, and moderate during winter with an average difference of 27 degrees Fahrenheit.
The annual average precipitation at Amarillo is 19.71 Inches. Rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is June with an average rainfall of 3.28 Inches.
Information provided by idcide.com and city data.com
