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Quick Facts
Location: At the center of the Texas Panhandle, part of the Great Plains, and the intersection of Interstates 40 and 27 and U.S. Highways 60, 87 and 287.
Climate: Altitude 3,672 ft; annual precipitation app. 20 inches. The altitude and a constant breeze give Amarillo some of the cleanest air in the country, as well as low humidity. There are four distinct seasons and over 270 sunny days annually.
Population/Size: Amarillo metropolitan area 241,802 (Census 2010); in 1890 population was 482. The city encompasses 88.4 sqm in both, Potter and Randall Counties. There are app. 908 streets in Amarillo, as well as 58 parks and playgrounds, 4 city swimming pools, two world-class skating parks, and 32 miles of jogging trails.
Transportation: Three airlines serve Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport with over 50 daily arrivals and departures: American Eagle, Continental/United and Southwest Airlines.
Major Industries:
- Ranching and Farming
- Education, Banking
- Oil and Gas
- Medical and Tourism
Major Crops:
Famous Amarilloans:
- John Ayers – offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers
- John Bayless – pianist
- Cyd Charisse – actress/dancer
- Lee Cockrell – Grand Slam rodeo cowboy
- Ron Ely – actor and original TV Tarzan
- Terry Funk – wrestler
- Charles Goodnight – first rancher in the area
and inventor of the chuck wagon
- Rick Husband – astronaut
- Timothy Jenkins – opera singer
- Mary Jane Johnson – opera singer
- Alex O’Brien – Tennis pro
- Brandon Slay – Olympic Gold Medal winner in wrestling
- Red Steagall – country/western entertainer
- Ryan Palmer – professional golfer
- Zach Thomas – football player Miami Dolphins
Did You Know?
- In 1893 Amarillo’s population was listed as “between 500 and 600 humans and 50,000 head of cattle”?
- That Amarillo (Spanish for yellow) was named after the yellow sub-soil and the yellow blooms on the area’s Yucca plants?
- Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport has the 3rd largest runway in the world and is designated as an alternate landing site for the space shuttle?
- Some people maintain that during sunrise and sunset in Amarillo, on can see the curvature of the earth, due to the wide open spaces of the Great Plains?
- That in 1922 the first radio concert ever broadcast was by Amarillo radio station WDAG – one of the first licensed stations in the country?
- That in 1929 Amarillo was a stop on the route of the first, continuous, scheduled air passenger and mail service from the Atlantic to the Pacific?
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Military Uniforms from the Permanent Collection
Jan 26, 2013
- Jan 4, 2014
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Orren Mixer Exhibit
Feb 18, 2013
- Jul 27, 2013
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The Wild & Wacky Weather on the Panhandle Plains
Mar 6, 2013
- Jan 31, 2014
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AMoA Biennial 600- Printmaking
Jun 14, 2013
- Aug 11, 2013
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Hatching the Past- Dinosaur Eggs & Babies
Jun 14, 2013
- Aug 31, 2013
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