Badlands, South Dakota boasts a variety of minerals for those who know what to look for.
The Badlands National Park is located in South Dakota. Despite the name the park is friendly to hikers of a variety of skill levels, and in addition to the unique animal wildlife that can be seen there are a variety of different minerals that are on display to those who know what they're looking for. Some of the minerals are exposed to the elements as the stone has worn away, but others have only been located inside the earth.
Quartz
Crystal quartz is one of the most common minerals on the planet. It's found all over the world, and there are many large deposits of it in Badlands National Park. Quartz crystal is often sold as a keepsake stone, and many people who believe in crystal magic use this stone to help center themselves for their meditations. Quartz crystals also are used in a variety of mechanical sensors due to the mineral's unique form of contracting and expanding when exposed to certain types of sound. This is probably one of the more common minerals found in the Badlands.
Chalcedony
Another common mineral that's found in the Badlands is chalcedony. Chalcedony is a mineral that has a waxy appearance, is hard, brittle and blue-tinged. Chalcedony also is extremely resistant to the process of erosion. As a result of this resistance there are large, noticeable spikes of chalcedony that stick up above the ground in various places in the Badlands. These dikes of chalcedony stick up above the ground because they have resisted the effects of erosion while the ground around them was worn away by the wind and rain.
Calcite
Another common mineral that's found in Badlands, South Dakota (and one that was actually harvested from the area) is calcite. Calcite is one of the main mineral components in limestone and marble, which can be found striping the stones throughout the Badlands National Park. Calcite is used in the construction industry (which uses both marble and limestone as building materials) but in more basic forms calcite also is used by farmers to help nourish their crops. This mineral acts as a powerful acid neutralizer.
Tags: Badlands National, Badlands National Park, found Badlands, mineral that, National Park
