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Badlands National Park

After our initial overnight, we spend a day visiting Tertiary fossil sites and examining the erosional landscape.  We then (vehicles permitting) shall spend a night in the only grassland Wilderness (Sage Creek) in the USA.  Time and permission pending, on our final day in Badlands we shall visit the Palmer Creek Unit fossil area and the Wounded Knee Massacre site .

• OBJECTIVES       [BACK]

  • GEOLOGY:   Note the influence of different rock materials and configurations on drainage and erosion, and the Tertiary fossils.

  • BIOLOGY:   Note the vegetation and any wildlife.

  • CULTURAL:   Take notes of the past or current human landscapes, including the fossil collectors.  

• Special Recommendation:  STAY ON THE TRAILS!  This landscape is fragile, so therefore respect and courtesy are essential.  Carry water; these sites are very dry and hot.   Refreshments are available at the visitor center. Sage Creek Wilderness has no services.

• See also the Badlands National Park web site.

• current weather (Rapid City SD)

• current weather alerts (nationwide)

• Comfort/Health Indices Calculator 

• For unfamiliar geophysical terms, see the Geology Glossary and the Meteorology Glossary.  There is also an extensive Ecology Glossary.

N C Heywood [email] maintains this page, last updated 16MAR08.   We monitor our cell phone from 6 to 8 PM CDT each day when in range.  That number is (715) 459-8181.