Baddest of the badlands Nov 10, 2020

Baddest of the badlands

Heading west on Interstate 90, peek out the driver"s side when you"re about three-quarters of the way across South Dakota. It"s the first clue you"ve entered the Wild West: the expansive, layered landscape of Badlands National Park. It"s enjoyed government protection since 1939, first as a national monument and more completely after it was upgraded to national park status on this day in 1978. The park protects 244,000 acres of dramatically eroded bedrock replete with fossil beds—as well as the nation"s largest mixed-grass prairie, hosting bison, prairie dogs, and endangered black-footed ferrets.

© Dennis Frates/Alamy

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Today in History

Nov 10, 2018The Badlands celebrates a milestone
Nov 10, 2019Sunny day, sweepin the clouds away
Nov 10, 2021Cumberland Island National Seashore
Nov 10, 2022Badlands National Park turns 44
Nov 10, 2023Badlands National Parks 45th anniversary
Nov 10, 2024Caribbean flamingos, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Nov 10, 202547 years of Badlands National Park

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