Beautiful landscape of the Badlands
The sedimentary record in the Badlands tells a two-part story. On one hand, the erosional features that give the landscape its dramatic appearance—those jagged buttes, deep canyons, and spires—have been formed by erosional forces over roughly the past 500,000 years. On the other hand, the sediments themselves carry a much longer history. In fact, the rock layers exposed in the Badlands include deposits that date back as much as about 75 million years. This vast sediment pile was built up over many millions of years through deposition in ancient environments, ranging from shallow seas to floodplains.
Erosion continues to shape the landscape, revealing these layers in buttes, spires, and canyons. It is estimated that the Badlands erode at a rate of one inch per year, meaning they could disappear in 500,000 years.
Beautiful landscape of the Badlands
The sedimentary record in the Badlands tells a two-part story. On one hand, the erosional features that give the landscape its dramatic appearance—those jagged buttes, deep canyons, and spires—have been formed by erosional forces over roughly the past 500,000 years. On the other hand, the sediments themselves carry a much longer history. In fact, the rock layers exposed in the Badlands include deposits that date back as much as about 75 million years. This vast sediment pile was built up over many millions of years through deposition in ancient environments, ranging from shallow seas to floodplains.
Erosion continues to shape the landscape, revealing these layers in buttes, spires, and canyons. It is estimated that the Badlands erode at a rate of one inch per year, meaning they could disappear in 500,000 years.