MAPPING AND GEOGRAPHICAL WORLD

Located in the Texas Panhandle Amarillo, Texas was first settled in 1887. Amarillo is a Spanish word which means "yellow", named from the color of the sub-soil. Industry in Amarillo thrived in the early years, primarily because of railroading and cattle. As the Texas oil industry expanded, Amarillo became a big player - it has the world's largest natural gas development and provides pipelines to many large cities and thousands of towns connecting all the way to the Atlantic coast. Amarillo became a major stop along the "Mother Road", Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. Palo Duro Canyon State Park with more than 16,000 colorful acres about 1/2 hour south of Amarillo has a bit of history of its own. It has been inhabited for approximately 12,000 years, originally by the Clovis and Folsom people who hunted large herds of mammoth and giant bison. Later, came Apaches, Comanches, and Kiowas. Early Spanish explorers passed through the canyon. Indian/white man battles took place in 1874. From 1876 until 1890, most of the canyon belonged to the J.A. Ranch operated by Col. Charles Goodnight who was a prominent cattleman in the Amarillo area. The land was later deeded to the state.