Located in the southwestern region of the United States, Amarillo is the commercial center of the Texas Panhandle.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hda02 The city, commonly called "The Yellow Rose of Texas," is the center point of the Historic Route 66, which extends from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California.http://www.go-texas.net/Amarillo/

Amarillo, Texas was founded in 1887.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hda02 It became a center for cattle-marketing. Cattle are still a vital industry for the area. Today, Amarillo produces twenty-five percent of America's beef and eighty-eight percent of Texas' beef.http://www.visitamarillotx.com/aboutAmarillo.cfm?p=History Other primary industries for the city include petrochemicals, heavy manufacturing and tourism. The city and its surrounding areas are national and international hotspots for Old West enthusiasts.http://www.tourtexas.com/content.cfm?id=4

Amarillo is the headquarters of the American Quarter Horse Association and Working Ranch Cowboys Association.http://www.aqha.com/About.aspx http://www.wrca.org/contact.php The city is also home to many aviation manufacturers, earning it the nickname, "Rotor City, USA."http://rotorcityusa.com/ In 2010, the Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank, ranked Amarillo as America's sixteenth-best-performing city.http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/ Their cited reasons include the city's job growth, industry diversification and stable housing market.http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2010-10-24/were-among-best-cities

In 1541, Francisco Coronado, a Spanish conquistador, reached the American southwest.http://www.visitamarillotx.com/aboutAmarillo.cfm?p=History Cattlemen and sheep herders followed in search of better grazing for their livestock. In 1878, imported Longhorn cattle replaced the native buffalo. Within five years, Hereford and Shorthorn cattle replaced the Longhorn.

In 1874, battle losses to U.S. troops during the Red River Wars caused the displacement of the region's indigenous peoples.http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/palo_duro/#hist These events paved the way for European settlements. In 1887, Amarillo, originally Oneida, was established by J. T. Berry and a group of Colorado City businessmen.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hda02 Ranching was the main industry. Natural gas and oil were discovered in 1918 and 1921, respectively. The discoveries were the precursors for the diversification of the region's economy.

Amarillo is located at latitude 35°13'N and longitude 101°42'W on the high plains of northern Texas.http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/tx/410211.pdf The city sits at an altitude of 3,586 feet.http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/tx/410211.pdf Its average high temperature is 70.3°F (July 91°F), and its average low temperature is 43.6°F (January 22.6°F).http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/tx/410211.pdf

South of Amarillo is the Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the United States.http://www.palodurocanyon.com/ The Grand Canyon is the largest canyon in the nation. Amarillo occupies 88.4 square miles in Randall and Potter counties.http://www.visitamarillotx.com/aboutAmarillo.cfm?p=Climate#population It has a population of 192,000 residents.http://www.visitamarillotx.com/aboutAmarillo.cfm?p=FAQs The Amarillo metropolitan statistical area, encompassing Potter, Randall, Carson and Armstrong counties, has 245,000 people.http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2010-10-24/were-among-best-cities

• Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument: A park ranger guides visitors on a 1.5 mile tour of the multi-colored flint quarries.http://www.nps.gov/alfl/index.htm
• Amarillo Botanical Gardens: Its many outdoor offerings include Japanese, fragrance, xeric and butterfly gardens.http://www.amarillobotanicalgardens.org/index.php
• Amarillo Zoo: The Thompson Park site has fifteen acres with over 60 species of animals.http://www.amarillozoo.org/
• Historic Route 66: This stretch of the original Route 66 features over a mile of antique and collectible shops.http://www.amarillo66.com/
• Kwahadi Museum of the American Indian: The museum holds the Thomas Mails collection of Native American culture. Other highlights include Tom Knapp's bronze castings, a Navajo rug collection, game animal exhibit, and an indigenous birds of the Plains display.http://www.kwahadi.com/
• Palo Duro Canyon State Park: Vistors can choose from many activities at Palo Duro, including camping, mountain biking, and hiking.http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/palo_duro/
• Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum: The museum features a collection of more than three million artifacts.http://www.panhandleplains.org/
• Polk Street Historic District:The district contains a collection of historic residential buildings built between 1905 and 1915.http://www.visitamarillotx.com/visitors.cfm?p=polk
• TEXAS: During the summer, this outdoor musical drama is performed at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park.http://www.texas-show.com/
• Texas Panhandle War Memorial: The memorial honors Texas Panhandle veterans who fought in conflicts from the Spanish-American War to the present.http://www.visitamarillotx.com/visitors.cfm?p=warMemorial

• Lacey Brown: American Idol (Seasons 8 and 9) contestanthttp://www.laceybrownamericanidol.com/
• Derek Cecil: Actorhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0147689/
• Cyd Charisse: Dancer and actresshttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001998/
• Carolyn Jones: Actresshttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0427700/
• Paul S. Lockhart: NASA astronauthttp://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lockhart.html
• Mark E. Neely, Jr.: Pulitzer Prize winning historianhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-E-Neely-Jr/112450752105228
• Grady Nutt: Humoristhttp://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fnu07
• Ryan Palmer: Professional golferhttp://www.pgatour.com/players/02/33/20/
• Evan Tanner: Mixed martial arts fighterhttp://amarillo.com/stories/091708/obi_obit5.shtml