Amarillo



Amarillo, which means "yellow" in Spanish, is the center of the Texas Panhandle at the edge of the Great Plains.

Understand
Amarillo offers a true Western heritage, a unique geographical area with wide open spaces and breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. Amarillo is also the gateway to Palo Duro Canyon, America's second largest canyon. With its relatively mild climate, the city is rated as having some of the cleanest air in the country.

Indians, conquistadors, buffalo hunters, settlers, cowboys, adventurers, lawmen, gunfighters, and the railroad all contributed in many ways to the development and growth of the area. That heritage is still felt here, where "cowboy" is still an honorable profession. Here you can enjoy the very best of the Old and New West!

Founded in 1887, the city charter was adopted in 1913. Amarillo is one of the first cities in the nation to use the City Commissioner-City Manager form of government. Now home to approximately 198,000 residents, the city features excellent accommodations, a spacious convention/civic center, symphony, ballet, little theater, opera, and is the home of Amarillo College.

Though it is on the very northern tip of the Llano Estacado Plateau, Amarillo has closer ties with the High Plains region, serving as its economic, industrial, transportation, and cultural hub.

By car
Amarillo is located on:
 * Interstate 40 east of Albuquerque, New Mexico and west of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
 * Interstate 27 north of Lubbock, Texas.
 * U.S. Highway 60 west-southwest of Pampa, Texas.
 * U.S. Highway 287 south of Boise City, Oklahoma.
 * Amarillo also straddles historic Route 66.

Get around
The N-S avenues in central Amarillo are named for the presidents of the United States in order of when they served, from Washington just west of downtown through Cleveland to the east. Most of the E-W avenues are numbered, from N 24th through S 58th.

Old Route 66 crosses east to west through Amarillo, named Amarillo Boulevard. It passes just to the north of the airport, downtown, and the medical center, connecting US-60 on the east side with I-40 on the west side.

Loop 335 has been designated, but has not yet been developed into a limited access loop as in other cities. It comprises Soncy Road on the west (near Westgate Mall), St. Francis Avenue on the north, Hollywood Road on the south, and Lakeside Drive on the east (near the airport).

Local bus service is provided by Amarillo Transit.

See






Eat




Drink
The main nightlife district in Amarillo is South Polk Street downtown, between 7th and 8th avenues

Sleep
There are many motels along Interstate 40 on the city's west side.



Go next

 * Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, 35 miles north near Borger. A prehistoric quarry that produced widely traded flint stones.
 * Canyon, a few miles south on US 87, is home to the largest historical museum in Texas, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum.
 * Conway is a very small town a few miles east of Amarillo. If you enjoyed the Cadillac Ranch, stop here to find a similar art project done with Volkswagen Beetles. If that's not enough, you can find a version done with 12 wheat combines on FM 1151 near Canyon.
 * Carson County Square House Museum, a few miles to the east in Panhandle, has an interesting collection of early pioneer and railroad artifacts.
 * Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, 30 miles northeast near Fritch.
 * Palo Duro Canyon, 27 miles southeast near Canyon. The second largest canyon in the United States. The Palo Duro canyon is roughly 120 miles long and has an average width of 6 miles (10 km), but reaches a width of 20 miles (30 km) at places. Its maximum depth is 800 feet.
 * Vega, 28 miles west, and some nearby ghost towns have a number of well-preserved Route 66 sites.
 * Wildcat Bluff Nature Center, 3 miles (5 km) north of I-40 on Soncy. Learn about the plants and animals of the Great Plains and go for a hike!