Where They Are
Though Badlands National Park in South Dakota is known around the world, badlands is also a general term referring to a type of geography, rather than to a specific place. For example, the United States also has badlands in Utah and Wyoming. Canada has its own badlands near Toronto. There are also badlands in New Zealand and Spain.
Badlands Defined
The term "badlands" describes any area that alternates between soft rocks and hard rocks, with no vegetation. The lands have many precipices and buttes, with hidden ravines and ledges. Being inside a badland is rather like being inside a maze. It's easy to get lost or fall into a hole. The barrenness and desolation of the South Dakota area caused the Sioux Indians to call these "mako sico," meaning badlands.
Erosion and Weather
Badlands are formed by how the textures of soft and hard rocks react to water, usually in the form of flashfloods or heavy downpours in otherwise arid regions. Soft rocks and soil get washed away, leaving the hard rocks behind.
Because the water comes down so swiftly, it makes channels for itself by creating ravines or gullies. Clay in the soil becomes oversaturated, and the next time a strong wind or rain comes up, this clay falls away. This means that badlands are constantly changing, constantly eroding and could one day vanish entirely.
Tags: hard rocks, also badlands, South Dakota
