Yesterday Barbara, Toby and I traveled east to the Badlands National Park. I know some people see this place and think to themselves, what’s the big deal? Even the French and the Indians called this place “Badlands” in their own languages. But this park has a rugged beauty and at the same time a simplicity that geologists appreciate. Here a geologist can walk up to these formations and interpret their origins, the clues are all there laid out in front of them. It reminds me of some of my early learnings as a young geology student. One of my instructors frequently used the phrase K.I.S.S., keep it simple stupid. Meaning the simplest interpretation is usually the correct interpretation. And my sedimentary petrology instructor would frequently shout out “GRAINS DAMNIT”. To him everything in geology was made up of grains big and small. Thinking back on my time at CSUS, as a geology student, frequently brings a smile to my face.
The Badlands are underlain by shales made up of fine grained material that were laid down in a shallow sea with abundant plant material. On top of the shale lies hundreds of feet of volcanic ash layers that were transported by the wind from the Black Hills, approximately 30 million years ago, when the Black Hills contained numerous active volcanoes. It is estimated that these volcanic ash layers erode away at a rate of approximately five inches per year. This erosion is causing “The Wall” to move northward. This wall is easily seen in some of my photos below. This is where the town of Wall got its name. Wall is located just north of Badlands National Park. Wall is also a fun place to visit. Capping this area is a sandstone layer that has been washed down to this area by streams exiting the Black Hills.
Barbara and I love the Badlands. We have visited this park four times and will likely return in the future. In fact, yesterday Barbara kept commenting on the beauty of the park and the rocks on display here. Take a look at the photos below and judge for yourself.
RV There Yet? 