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Physical Features: Panhandle county; level, but broken by scenic Palo Duro Canyon, Buffalo Lake; Bivins Lake; silty clay, loam soils.

Economy: Agribusiness, education, tourism, part of Amarillo metropolitan area.

History: Comanche Indians removed in the mid-1870s; ranching began soon afterward. County created in 1876 from the Bexar District; organized in 1889; named for Confederate Gen. Horace Randal (name misspelled in statute).

Race/Ethnicity: (In percent) Anglo, 70.0; Black, 3.5; Hispanic, 23.1; Asian, 1.8; Other, 1.1; Two or more races, 2.1.

Vital Statistics, annual: Births, 1,667; deaths, 1,050; marriages, 481; divorces, 467.

Recreation: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, with Texas outdoor musical drama each summer; Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum; West Texas A&M University events; aoudad sheep, migratory waterfowl hunting in season; Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge; cowboy breakfasts at ranches.

Minerals: Not significant.

Agriculture: Grain sorghum, beef cattle, wheat, silage, cotton, dairies, hay. Market value $469.5 million.

CANYON (16,733) county seat; West Texas A&M University, tourism, commuting to Amarillo, ranching, farm center, light manufacturing, gateway to state park. 

AMARILLO (203,245 total, part [105,486] in Potter County) hub for northern Panhandle oil and ranching, distribution and marketing center, manufacturing; hospitals.

Other towns include: Lake Tanglewood (885); Palisades (348); Timbercreek Canyon (492); Umbarger (327) German sausage festival in November. Part of Happy (669, mostly in Swisher County).

Palo Duro Canyon. Photo by Robert Plocheck.