Visiting Badlands National Park
The Badlands are a unique geological formation found East of Rapid City, South Dakota. At Badlands National Park, you can expect to find canyons, buttes, and spires that showcase the geology of the area over the last 75 million years.
Badlands National Park, located an hour east of Rapid City, features a scenic drive and several short hiking trails. Visitors may also see bighorn sheep or whitetail deer in addition to several prairie dog towns and numerous species of birds. Park rangers also give presentations on the geology and the history of the Badlands throughout the day.
Geology of the Badlands
The rock layers of the Badlands reveal millions of years of a changing landscape. 75 million years ago the area was an inland sea, home of the gigantic mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. As this shallow sea retreated to their current form, a tropical jungle took over the landscape. Here, giant rhino-like mammals known as titanotheres dominated the landscape; later they would be replaced with sheep-like oreodonts on a savanna, similar to Africa’s Serengeti. Around 30 million years ago the area received lots of volcanic deposits, which today form the rugged peaks of the Badlands.
Badlands Hiking
There are several trails located in Badlands National Park. The Fossil Exhibit Trail is a short, handicap-accessible trail the showcases various fossils of the fauna that once inhabited the Badlands. The Notch trail climbs up a ladder and along a ledge to “the Notch” in between the spires to reveal a dramatic landscape of the White River Valley. The Castle Trail, at 10 miles round trip, is the longest trail in the Badlands. Along the trail you can find dramatic geological spires, resembling a castle.
Badlands Visitor Guide. National Park Service. 2016. https://www.nps.gov/badl/planyourvisit/upload/BADL-Newspaper-2016.pdf
The Badlands are a unique geological formation found East of Rapid City, South Dakota. At Badlands National Park, you can expect to find canyons, buttes, and spires that showcase the geology of the area over the last 75 million years.
Badlands National Park, located an hour east of Rapid City, features a scenic drive and several short hiking trails. Visitors may also see bighorn sheep or whitetail deer in addition to several prairie dog towns and numerous species of birds. Park rangers also give presentations on the geology and the history of the Badlands throughout the day.
Geology of the Badlands
The rock layers of the Badlands reveal millions of years of a changing landscape. 75 million years ago the area was an inland sea, home of the gigantic mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. As this shallow sea retreated to their current form, a tropical jungle took over the landscape. Here, giant rhino-like mammals known as titanotheres dominated the landscape; later they would be replaced with sheep-like oreodonts on a savanna, similar to Africa’s Serengeti. Around 30 million years ago the area received lots of volcanic deposits, which today form the rugged peaks of the Badlands.
Badlands Hiking
There are several trails located in Badlands National Park. The Fossil Exhibit Trail is a short, handicap-accessible trail the showcases various fossils of the fauna that once inhabited the Badlands. The Notch trail climbs up a ladder and along a ledge to “the Notch” in between the spires to reveal a dramatic landscape of the White River Valley. The Castle Trail, at 10 miles round trip, is the longest trail in the Badlands. Along the trail you can find dramatic geological spires, resembling a castle.
Badlands Visitor Guide. National Park Service. 2016. https://www.nps.gov/badl/planyourvisit/upload/BADL-Newspaper-2016.pdf