The Otherworldly Beauty of Badlands National Park

Posted by Jeff on Jul 10, 2016 @ 3:00 pm in Conservation | 0 comments | Last modified: July 10, 2016

The land is big and mostly flat. There are endless fields of corn, wheat and soybeans. Colors of green and gold paint the earth for miles.

But as you travel west, the farmland gives way to wild grasses. It grows tall here under a huge blue sky. Farther on, however, the grass becomes much shorter. A strong dry wind blows continuously from the west.

Suddenly, the land is torn and rocky, dry and dusty. The green is gone. Now you are surrounded by light reds and browns. Purple and gold hues can be seen as well. All around are broken, disorganized forms. There are sharp walls of rocks, and hills and valleys of all sizes and shapes.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, this whole area was grassland. Then forces of nature destroyed the grass in some parts. Water and ice cut into the surface of the Earth, splitting open some of its oldest rocks. Nature beat at the rocks, wearing them away.

The result is one of the strangest sights, a place of otherworldly beauty. Welcome to Badlands National Park in the state of South Dakota.

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