Harlingen, city, Cameron County, southern Texas, a busy port on a channel connected to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, near Brownsville; incorporated 1910. It is a distribution and manufacturing center situated in the agricultural lower Río Grande Valley; industries include shrimp farming and the manufacture of processed food, aerospace equipment, metal items, clothing, and chemicals. Tourism is also important to the city's economy. Harlingen is the site of a junior college and the Río Grande Valley Museum, with displays on regional history. Two national wildlife refuges and South Padre Island National Seashore are nearby. The community, settled about 1900, is named after the town of Harlingen in the Netherlands. Population 43,543 (1980); 48,735 (1990); 57,564 (2000).
