Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park (Lakota: Makȟóšiča) is an American national park located in southwestern South Dakota. The park protects 242,756 acres (379.3 sq mi; 982.4 km2) of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The National Park Service manages the park, with the South Unit being co-managed with the Oglala Lakota tribe.The Badlands Wilderness protects 64,144 acres (100.2 sq mi; 259.6 km2) of the park as a designated wilderness area, and is one site where the black-footed ferret, one of the most endangered mammals in the world, was reintroduced to the wild. The South Unit, or Stronghold District, includes sites of 1890s Ghost Dances, a former United States Air Force bomb and gunnery range, and Red Shirt Table, the park's highest point at 3,340 feet (1,020 m).Authorized as Badlands National Monument on March 4, 1929, it was not established until January 25, 1939. Badlands was redesignated a national park on November 10, 1978. Under the Mission 66 plan, the Ben Reifel Visitor Center was constructed for the monument in 1957–58. The park also administers the nearby Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. The movies Dances with Wolves (1990) and Thunderheart (1992) were partially filmed in Badlands National Park.This national park was originally a reservation of the Oglala Sioux Indians and spans the southern unit of the park. The area around Stronghold Table was originally Sioux territory, and is revered as a ceremonial sacred site rather than a place to live.
In 1868, at the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie, the United States assured the Sioux that the Badlands shall forever be the property of the Sioux. In 1889, however, the treaty was broken and the Badlands were confiscated by the United States and unilaterally incorporated into a national park. The abrogation of the treaty was ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1980, and the area is now effectively illegally occupied by the United States.At the end of the 19th century, the Sioux Indians, who had been hunted down by the whites, used this area as the site of the Ghost Dance, a ceremony to revive the souls of buffalo and the dead. After the last ghost dance in 1890, the United States banned the ritual, but it was revived by the Red Power Movement, a movement to restore Indian rights that began in the 1960s.
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1
History
- 1.1 Native Americans
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1.2
Fossil hunters
- 1.2.1 List of fossil animals
- 1.3 Homesteaders
- 1.4 Military use of Stronghold District
- 2 Legislative and administrative history
- 3 Wildlife
- 4 Visitor services
- 5 Climate
- 6 Gallery
- 7 Current issues and challenges
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 10 External links
Links
Images Gallery
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False-color satellite image of the park
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White River Badlands
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Badlands in the northern portion of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
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Comments
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What a wonderful place to stop honestly. It’s great having a road go through here to see and experience everything around here. It was a very good place to stop and I recommend this be a place for you to stop on a road trip for sure.
a week ago -
Gorgeous national park. Definitely a must see. There are about 15 stop offs in the loop and it took us about 2 hours. There is also a lodge that you can stop and eat at as well. My friend and I had my almost 3 year old with us and we definitely had to keep hold of him tightly because the drop offs at the stops are extremely dangerous so use caution when bringing small children who want to run around.
a week ago -
We are traveling the country and I have to be honest, this is my least favorite National Park so far. The dirt piles just look like a construction site to me. The coolest part of our stay was the severe weather. It was exciting. Two trailers in the park got flipped over in the storm.
a week ago -
What an incredible opportunity to see God’s majesty! We drove the scenic loop and finished just after sunrise where we found a good overlook to watch as the stars emerged from their invisibility. Simply wow! We didn’t have a good camera to capture the Milky Way but trust us! It was an incredible sight to behold!! Well worth adding it to your trip!
a week ago -
The striking scenic drive with layers of eroded sedimentary rock would make this park a must go alone. The park also excels in overviews, visitor center and general infrastructure, plus the wildlife is present and incredible along the loop.
a week ago -
This was our first trip to the Badlands National Park and it was quite the journey in this terrain. We traveled on miles and miles of rock road and the Badlands appeared to be endless. It is a wonderful park to behold with its rugged and eroded area of buttes and gullies in Southwestern South Dakota. This area was first established as a National Monument in 1939 and became a National Park in 1978. I can’t believe it took so long to become a National Park. I have since found out there is a Badlands Loop that we missed. We will rectify that situation on our next adventure out west.
a week ago -
We explore a lot and this is definitely the best park for small kids! I loved how they structured the park to accommodate those who wanted to see it too but maybe had Mobile issues or were just tiny little humans that needed some extra time. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is more for hiking, Badlands in my opinion is more for families.
3 weeks ago -
Great Experience at the Beautiful Park. I went to this place on 1990 with my cousing and I came back again with my son on August 2021 during a Road trip. Awesome time. 🥰🥰
2 days ago