Llano Estacado - Human Population

Human Population

Because of its difficult conditions, the Llano Estacado has an extremely low population density. Most of the area's population is localized in the principal cities of Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland and Odessa, Texas. The vast majority of the area is rural, covered by large ranches and irrigated farms. Several small- to medium-sized towns do exist, however, including Andrews, Hereford, Plainview, Levelland, and Lamesa, Texas, and Clovis, Portales, and Hobbs, New Mexico.

The Llano Estacado is slightly larger in area than the state of Indiana. The southern extension of the High Plains, the region is some 250 miles north to south and 200 miles east to west. The roads are straight and meet mostly at right angles. Cotton is an essential crop with irrigation, but faces declining prices at times on the world market. The Llano Estacado is sometimes humorously described as "85 percent sky and 15 percent grassland."

For years, the Llano Estacado was isolated from the state government in Austin and the national leadership in Washington, D.C., though powerful lawmakers, such as George H. Mahon, Kent Hance, and Robert L. Duncan emerged to defend its interests. The area has a large number of churches per capita. Lubbock, known for a wide variety of denominations, also holds the distinction of being the most populous city on the High Plains from the Dakotas through Texas. Prohibition did not end on the Texas Plains in 1933 with repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, but continued for years at the county level. Even in 2010, some forty Texas counties, most in the Llano Estacado, remain officially "dry" to the sale of alcohol.

• Map of Texas counties with population density

• Lubbock, Texas, the largest city on the Llano

• A shot of downtown Amarillo, Texas

• Midland, "The Tall City" of West Texas

• Downtown Odessa