Why Does Amarillo Texas Smell? Here’s The Science Behind The Answer.

I recently came across a post on Reddit from someone who is visiting asking what the smell in Amarillo was. It's a smell all of us in the Texas panhandle are familiar with. The aroma is one that goes by many names and is an integral part of living in Amarillo, Texas.

Why Does Amarillo Smell Weird?

Here's the thing. It isn't necessarily Amarillo itself that smells that way. That aroma is wafting around the panhandle from several sources. When it rains in the Texas panhandle, you can smell it more than usual. The rain and the wind combined can saturate the entire area with a pungent aroma.

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Some call it money. Some call it the "Hereford Smell". What you are smelling is nothing more than the scent of cow manure. It's excrement; the digestive leftovers from yesterday's meal. You get the picture. Welcome to Cattle Country, fair traveler.

The Texas Panhandle Is Cattle Country; Get Used To The Smell

Cattle are important to the Texas panhandle. There are feed yards and cattle operations all over the place. It's a major part of our cultural identity. We have a restaurant that is world famous for making a steak that laughs in the face of gluttony. When you go to an art gallery or any office in Amarillo, you're going to see paintings of cows blankly staring back at you. Oprah even came here and Dr. Phil's career was launched thanks to cattle in the Texas panhandle.

The science behind the smell is actually the decomposition of the manure and waste feed. The super smart way to describe it is "the anaerobic breakdown of organic matter". Water actually makes the smell worse, and recently we've had a record-breaking amount of rain. Don't worry, though. One of two things will happen. The smell will ease up, or you'll get used to it.