Amarillo

Amarillo (ămərĭl`ō, –`ə), city (1990 pop. 157,615), seat of Potter co., N Tex.; inc. 1899. The commercial and industrial center of the Texas Panhandle, Amarillo grew after the coming of the railroad in 1887, becoming a market for wheat farmers. After the discovery of gas (1918) and oil (1921), Amarillo developed into an industrial city. Its economy is also based on ranching, meatpacking, flour milling, zinc and copper smelting, and the manufacture of helicopters, wood and fiberglass products, synthetic rubber, and cattle feed. A U.S. government helium plant and the Federal Helium Preserve are nearby; the Pantex plant, east of the city, which formerly built nuclear weapons, now disassembles them.

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Amarillo

City (pop., 2000: 173,627), northern Texas, U.S. The chief city of the Texas Panhandle, it originated in 1887 with the coming of the railroad. After it grew to become one of the world's busiest cattle-shipping sites in the 1890s, agriculture became important in the region. The discovery of petroleum and natural gas in the 1920s further promoted Amarillo's development.