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Geological Formation

Badlands National Park

Gorges and Canyons

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.

Facts
Classification
Protected Status
National Park or Reserve 1
Connections

Associated With

Eocene, Eras
Source Badlands National Park (Wikipedia)
Oligocene, Eras
Source Badlands National Park (Wikipedia)
Shale, Materials
Source Badlands National Park (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Erosion, Processes
Source Badlands National Park (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Geomorphology, Disciplines
Source Badlands National Park (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Badlands National Park (Wikipedia)
  • Lead section
    Badlands National Park (Lakota: Makȟóšiča) is a national park of the United States in southwestern South Dakota.
  • Associated With: Eocene, Article text, age Eocene
    From oldest to youngest the group is made up of the Chamberlain Pass and Chadron formations (late Eocene), the Brule Formation (Oligocene, deposited about 32 to 26 million years ago), and the Sharps Formation (latest Oligocene), which caps the park's highest peaks.
  • Associated With: Oligocene, Article text, age Oligocene
    From oldest to youngest the group is made up of the Chamberlain Pass and Chadron formations (late Eocene), the Brule Formation (Oligocene, deposited about 32 to 26 million years ago), and the Sharps Formation (latest Oligocene), which caps the park's highest peaks.
  • Associated With: Shale, Article text, rock Shale
    These dark marine muds make up the Pierre Shale, which contains fossils of marine animals such as ammonites and mosasaurs.
  • In Discipline: Geomorphology, Lead paragraph
    Badlands National Park (Lakota: Makȟóšiča) is a national park of the United States in southwestern South Dakota.
  • Caused By: Erosion, Lead sentence
    The park protects 242,756 acres (379.3 sq mi; 982.4 km2) of sharply eroded buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States.
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