amarillo chamber of commerce - HPN Books

sunrises, sunsets,and big skiesExplorers, trailblazers, traders, cattlemen, Comancheros, and NativeAmericans traveled through what is now known as Amarillo long beforeit was settled. Explorer, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado described thearea as plains so vast they couldn’t find their limit anywhere and havingno more landmarks than if they had been swallowed by the sea. Thebreaks of the Llano Estacado give way to mesquite covered rolling plains,then a tableland expanse where Amarillo sprawls across an endless sky.Today, despite the cultivation of millions of acres of farmland, fields of oiland gas equipment, miles of roads, and the existence of rural towns andthe city of Amarillo, open spaces still define the Texas Panhandle.Clockwise, starting from the top:Hot air balloons prepare to launch into the deep blue twilight near Amarillo.PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE AMARILLO CONVENTION AND VISITOR COUNCIL..A blazing ball of sunlight sinking into a hot western sky is a familiar sight to residents of the Texas Panhandle.It would be hard to find anything prettier than the Amarillo skyline splayed against a West Texas sky.Chapter 3169