The Badlands Of South Dakota - southdakotabadlands168014
by Frank J Benz
Title
The Badlands Of South Dakota - southdakotabadlands168014
Artist
Frank J Benz
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The Badlands Of South Dakota
The scenic vistas are amazing at what is known as the Badlands National Park, consisting of 244,000 acres of sharply deteriorated buttes, pinnacle and spires, coalesce with the largest safeguarded and undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States, was called Mako Sica by the Lakota indians. The Lakota indian meaning of Mako Sica is land bad.
The Badlands in the truest sense is total desolation, you can view to the horizon for miles in any direction and see no sign of civilization. This is a wildly rugged, mysterious and intimidating land that has been mercilessly devastated by wind and water over millions of years has become a most beautiful and picturesque landscape. The Badlands contains countless colorful spires and pinnacles, massive buttes and extremely deep gorges creating a visual scene that at times seems extraordinary.
Over the thousands of years of erosion taking place in the Badlands sedimentary layers of several different colors have been exposed. There are light and dark streaks of purple and yellow (shale), tans and grays (sand and gravels), reds and oranges (iron oxides) and white (volcanic ash). It is amazing to walk upon the ground, on top of all the layered white smooth eroded surfaces as it feels almost soft to the step. An absolutely astonishing place to visit, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and even buffalo can be seen in the Badlands along with literally thousands of prairie dogs right up to the edge and onto the road.
There are abundant signs warning of rattlesnakes in all of the viewing areas and on the trails so one must stay alert at all times as to not only their surroundings but to the wildlife as well. Walking out towards the edges and overlooks in the Badlands can be somewhat challenging as the surface of the ground is quite smooth with small loose material sitting on top so care must be given where one steps and how aggressive you want to be approaching the edges of the gorges. When the ground is wet it can become extremely slippery so extra care and planning of your walking journey should be allowed for.
The Badlands of South Dakota are spectacular to behold, as far as you can see there are layers of delicately colored rock that are still revealing their secrets just waiting for the next visitor to find the latest offerings the land has to offer.
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July 12th, 2016
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