cannonball concretions
We visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park for the first time on this trip. It's great park for seeing wildlife and unusual badlands type formations. We have been to the Badlands in South Dakota, but until a couple years ago I hadn't know there was a smaller group in North Dakota.
TRNP is less well known and not near major population areas, so it was relatively uncrowded. It is divided into 2 main sections: North (south of Watford City, ND) and South (in Medora, ND). The north section has some walks and hiking trails along the main roadway that let you get a closer view of some of the formations . One of the most interesting had cannonball concretions. (See the first comment for an explanation of how they form.) As well as seeing stone cannonballs still embedded in the canyon walls, we saw some along the path. The largest we saw was more than 36 inches (90cm) in diameter. The ones in the photos above are smaller, about 24 inches (60cm) in diameter. The south section has more typical badlands formations and more wildlife, as well as the Painted Canyon Overlook and a cabin where TR spent some time.
cannonball concretions
We visited Theodore Roosevelt National Park for the first time on this trip. It's great park for seeing wildlife and unusual badlands type formations. We have been to the Badlands in South Dakota, but until a couple years ago I hadn't know there was a smaller group in North Dakota.
TRNP is less well known and not near major population areas, so it was relatively uncrowded. It is divided into 2 main sections: North (south of Watford City, ND) and South (in Medora, ND). The north section has some walks and hiking trails along the main roadway that let you get a closer view of some of the formations . One of the most interesting had cannonball concretions. (See the first comment for an explanation of how they form.) As well as seeing stone cannonballs still embedded in the canyon walls, we saw some along the path. The largest we saw was more than 36 inches (90cm) in diameter. The ones in the photos above are smaller, about 24 inches (60cm) in diameter. The south section has more typical badlands formations and more wildlife, as well as the Painted Canyon Overlook and a cabin where TR spent some time.