Badlands National Park
By Nolan Lamb
What year did Badlands become a
National Park?
• On March 4, 1929, President Franklin
Roosevelt authorized Badlands as a National
Monument. Forty-nine years later, on
November 10 1978, it was redesignated as
Badlands National Park. It was designed to
protect the unusual mountain formations and
the largest grass prairie in the United States.
How was Badlands Park formed?
• Seventy-five million years ago, our climate was
warmer than it is now, and a shallow sea covered
most of the great plains. The sea had a ton of
animals living within it . In the present day
Badlands, the bottom of that sea appears as
sedimentary rock. This layer is known to have a
lot of fossils in it. After eons passed, the pushing
and shoving of the continental plates lead to an
active period in which there was mountain
building in the ancestral Rocky mountains. This
caused the land under the inland sea to rise.
Then the sea retreated and drained away.
How was Badlands Park formed?
• In time, the area that we now know as the
Badlands was exposed to air and sunshine.
The climate was humid and warm, and the
rainfall was abundant. On the new land a
subtropical forest developed as a dense and
dark area. The forest flourished for millions of
years. Eventually, the climate grew cooler and
drier, which caused increased changes in the
formation of the Badlands making it look like
the present day landscape.
What Type of Rocks are found in
Badlands National Park?
There are a very large number of rocks found in
Badlands National Park. They are known for there
many different types of sedimentary and igneous rocks,
such as limestone, volcanic ash and sandstone. You
can find many fossils inside the Pierre's, which are
grassy hard land formations.
One hundred million years ago the area was
covered by a shallow sea. It was full of prehistoric
creatures. When they died their bones collected in the
sediment. These fossils are all over the place in the
Badlands.
Special Landforms & Features found
inside Badlands National Park
• The Badlands are known for their beautiful red
colored mountains and rock formations because
of the iron deposits. There are deep gorges and
canyons. There are unique rock formations called
buttes, which are broad flat-topped rocks
thousands of feet high, with steep eroded cliffs
that go straight down to the ground. Chimney
Butte is a famous example of this. There are lots
of spires and sharp sword-like rock formations in
the Badlands.
Plants/ animals found in the badlands
The Badlands hold more than 40 species of grass. They
also hold approximately 200 species of wildflowers .Early in
spring some flowers like the prairie violets and white or
blue hood phlox begin to bloom. One of the most
interesting animals you will find in the Badlands are buffalo.
Buffalo seem gentle, but if you get too close to them or
their calves they may attack you. Also you will find Prairie
dogs, pronghorn antelope and mule deer. The pronghorn
can run up to sixty miles per hour. Prairie dogs live in
groups called towns, and hibernate underground when it
gets cold out. White tailed deer run with their tail up and
the mule deer with a blacktopped tail doesn’t hold its tail
up. Chipmunks are common to see by the buttes. You’ll
also see hares and jack rabbits. Hares are larger than
rabbits.
How is land currently changing in
Badlands?
The land is getting dryer. The Badlands only
get sixteen inches of rainfall per year. There is
very little vegetation in badlands, and the
numbers have been decreasing for a million
years. This is changing due to climate changes
and weathering. The Badlands get lots of flash
floods and landslides after the rainstorms. The
rock formations throughout the park are getting
lots of erosion due to weathering. Storms, lack of
plants to hold down soil, wind, sun, and snow are
contributing to this as well.
Environmental issues
The biggest problem in Badlands National park is
weathering and erosion. These forces have been going
on for millions of years. They are responsible for most
of the unusual rock formations. But eventually all the
buttes and spires will be eroded flat. Also, non–native
grasses and weeds are growing out of control. They are
taking over and killing off native grasses. That would
mean all of the butts and spires will have grass or
weeds growing off the side of them. Energy
development west of the park is polluting the air and
the water. And greater numbers of park visitors are
increasing garbage and waste problems in the
Badlands.
What type Technology is used in your
park
The Badlands National Park is trying to stop
erosion in the Badlands by diverting rain water
away from eroding cliffs. They are doing this by
digging new drainage ditches into reservoirs. Park
rangers are trying to reduce invasive grasses by
planting indigenous grass plants. They are trying
to save the endangered prairie dogs by importing
them from outside . They are trying to improve
air and water quality by closing down old coal
power plants, and changing to solar, wind, and
geothermal power.
Topographic Map
• One is a topographic map and they other one is a
US map with the dot at Badlands National Park
Topographic map
US map with Badlands as the dot
Pictures of Badlands
Diagrams
Bibliography
• Websites
http://www.badlands.national-park.com/in fo.htm
www.nps.gov/badl/parkmgmt/upload/BADL_Centennial_Strat
egy.PDF
www.nps.gov/badl/faqs.htm
• Encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badlands_National_Park
• Book
Badlands: Beauty Carved From Nature, Linda R. Wade,1991.