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The Badlands National Park, South Dakota
The Badlands cover 244,000 acres in South Dakota, featuring worn-down hills, pointed peaks, and tower-like rocks that formed 75 million years ago. These eye-catching formations started as an ancient seabed, and over time, wind and rain wore away different rock layers to create their striped look.
The Lakota people gave this place its name “mako sica,” which means “bad land,” because of its rough landscape and harsh weather. Despite this unfriendly name, the Badlands contain some of North America’s best fossil sites, where scientists have found bones of ancient horses, rhinos, and saber-toothed cats.
The Land Is Eroding Faster Than Any Other Place in America
The ground beneath your feet in the Badlands is slowly wearing away. Every year, the rocks lose about an inch of their height due to erosion, making this place change faster than anywhere else in North America.
Wind and rain keep reshaping these rocks, and the constant freezing and thawing break them down even more. If this keeps up, scientists think the whole area will be gone in 500,000 years. =
Different Colored Rock Layers Show Earth’s History
Each stripe of color in the Badlands’ rocks tells a story about different periods in Earth’s past from 75 million years ago. The colors range from red, pink, orange, yellow, white, light gray, brown, and regular terracotta, each one meaning something different.
Red stripes come from old soil that turned to rock, fossilized soil layers, or paleosol. Each foot of rock represents bands of years of Earth’s history, making these cliffs a natural timeline.
Prehistoric Camels Once Lived in This Area
Scientists have found fossils from over 200 documented animal species, 206 bird species, and many reptile species in the Badlands that lived here million years ago. Among these discoveries are the bones of ancient camels that would surprise you.
These early camels, called Poebrotherium, were only as big as sheep and stood just 3 feet tall. Unlike today’s camels, they didn’t have humps.
Prairie Dogs Have Built the Largest Underground Town Here
The Badlands are home to a massive prairie dog community that spreads across 11,000 acres and houses a large population of these small animals. These social creatures have dug an amazing network of tunnels that go 15 feet deep into the ground. Their underground homes have different rooms for sleeping, caring for babies, and storing food.
These burrows don’t just help prairie dogs – they provide homes for more than 150 other types of animals, including small owls, rodents, and reptiles. The prairie dogs’ constant digging helps mix up the soil, which lets different types of plants grow better.
Temperature Changes Here Are Among the Most Extreme in North America
The weather in the Badlands can be incredibly harsh, with temperatures ranging from 116 degrees Fahrenheit on the hottest days to 40 degrees below zero on the coldest days. The temperature often changes in a single day, which is quite common.
The park only gets about 17 inches of rain each year, making it a tough place for plants and animals to live. The constant changes between freezing and thawing help break down the rocks faster, which keeps changing how the park looks.
Stargazers Can See Thousands of Stars in the Night Sky
When night falls in the Badlands, you can see one of the clearest views of the stars in North America. The sky is so dark that you can spot about 7,500 stars without a telescope. The park sits at 3,340 feet above sea level, and its clean, dry air makes it perfect for watching the stars.
The Milky Way looks so bright here that it casts shadows on clear nights, and you can even see features like the Andromeda Galaxy and Jupiter’s moons without special equipment.
The Park Successfully Brought Back the Bighorn Sheep
In 1964, the park started with just 22 bighorn sheep after they had disappeared from the area. Now, more than 250 of these impressive animals live here. Their special hooves help them climb steep cliffs – the outside is hard for grip, while the inside is soft for balance.
Male bighorns can weigh up 160 to 300 pounds and carry horns that weigh as much as 30 pounds. You have the best chance of seeing these amazing animals climb the steep cliffs during dawn and dusk.
Ancient Sea Life Left Its Mark in the Rocks
A deep sea covered this area 75 million years ago, reaching depths of 2,500 feet. The rocks here hold fossils of sea creatures like mosasaurs, which were giant marine reptiles that grew up to 56 feet long, and ammonites, which were spiral-shelled animals that could be 6 feet across.
Over time, the sand and mud at the bottom of this sea hardened into the rock layers we see today. Some parts of the park have so many fossils that you can find a large number of shark teeth.
Many Plants Here Have Healing Properties
The Badlands contain more than 400 different types of plants, and many of them can be used as medicine. The purple coneflower, also known as Echinacea, grows well here and can help boost your immune system.
Native American tribes found many ways to use these plants as medicine. For example, they used different parts of the purple coneflower to treat snake bites and colds. The tough growing conditions in the park make these plants produce more of their helpful compounds than plants growing in easier environments.
This Land Holds Special Meaning for Native Americans
The Badlands played an important role in Native American history, especially as one of the final places where people performed the Ghost Dance in the late 1800s. Hundreds of people would gather here to perform this important ceremony, which could last for several days.
he rough landscape provided a safe place for these sacred gatherings. Today, many tribes still consider this place sacred, and you can find old stone circles and other spots where ceremonies took place throughout the park.
Genetically Pure Bison Herds Roam the Prairie
There are about 1,000 to 1,200 bison living freely in the Badlands, and they’re special because they don’t have any cattle genes mixed in. These powerful animals can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and run as fast as 35 miles per hour across the park’s 224,000 acres of prairie.
As the bison move and graze, they help keep the prairie healthy. Their eating habits encourage different types of grass to grow – the park has more than 60 kinds of native grass because of them.
Ancient Paths Show How Animals and Humans Moved Through the Land
You can still see paths worn into the rock from thousands of years of animals walking the same routes. Some of these trails are carved deep into solid rock, showing how long they’ve been in use.
These paths started during the Pleistocene period when animals used them to reach water and food. Later, Native Americans and settlers followed these same routes. Scientists have found evidence that some of these paths have been in continuous use for more than 11,000 years.
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