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 badlandsThe 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• Websiteshttp://www.badlands.national-park.com/in fo.htm

www.nps.gov/badl/parkmgmt/upload/BADL_Centennial_Strategy.PDF

www.nps.gov/badl/faqs.htm

• Encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badlands_National_Park

• BookBadlands: Beauty Carved From Nature, Linda R. Wade,1991.