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Geological Formations

Badlands National Park

Erosional and Karst Formations

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Badlands National Park in southwestern South Dakota protects a rugged, heavily eroded landscape of layered sedimentary rock, banded sandstone, mudstone and siltstone carved by wind and water into sharp spires, buttes and canyons. The exposed layers preserve one of the richest fossil beds from the Oligocene epoch anywhere in the world. The area was protected as a national monument in 1939 and redesignated a national park in 1978.

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