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Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about the Badlands National Park

Comprising about 242.756 acres, the Badlands National Park has one of the most unique landscapes in the US. Established in 1978, the Badlands receives about one million visitors every year. Eager to witness sedimentary rocks that have been stripped for millennia, the Badlands has several visitors who want to explore its geology.

Divided into the northern and southern units, in 1939, the Badlands was documented as a national park. While the South unit is co-managed by the tribe of Oglala Lakota, the northern unit is managed by the US National Park Service.

The Badlands which offer steep canyons, layered rock formations, beautiful landscapes, and towering spires were home to the Native Americans for generations. In the 19^th Century, the US government moved the Native Americans into reservations which were a small portion of the territory.

Below are ten interesting facts about the Badlands National Park.

1. The Badlands National Park was previously a shallow sea

Door Trail at the Badlands National Park. Photo by Flickr/

Before the Badlands was the National Park it is today, it was an area covered by a shallow sea. When the water started receding, 75 million years ago, the sediments of sand, clay, and silt left behind are what formed the landscape we have today.

The fossils which the Oglala Lakota people found are what led them to believe that the area was previously underwater.

2. The rock formation at the Badlands was shaped by the water

Badlands National Park Photo by D. Luchsinger/

There are uncommon shapes and stripes on the Badlands rock formations. Made of white, tan, and red stripes, these are a result of the water shaping the site into what it is today.

The stripes are evidence of sediments swept away millions of years ago. The continuous erosion of the hardened sedimentary rocks gives the park the jagged cliffs and sloping hills that visitors come to witness.

These sites are what give the landscape the unique look that the Badlands is renowned for.

3. The Badlands terrain is still transforming due to natural elements

Badlands National Park Photo by Badlands National Park/

The terrain at the Badlands National Park is still undergoing transformation due to nature’s elements. Although taking place at a very slow pace, the National Park Service indicates that erosion is taking place annually. This is at the gentle pace of one inch per year.

4. There are more than 400 species of plant life in the Badlands

Bighorn Sheep in the Badlands National Park. Photo by Martin Kraft/

The Badlands is an area of mixed prairie comprising ankle-length and waist-length grass which grows in abundance. Additionally, scientists indicate that the Badlands ecosystem is home to abundant plant life.

The ecosystem currently has more than 400 different species growing in the park.

5. The Badlands got its name from the nature of its terrain

The White River Badlands, nonmarine sedimentary rocks of Tertiary age. The most scenic areas are part of the national park. Photo by James St. John/

The Badlands has been named by several different people who all came to the same conclusion.

The Oglala Lakota community named the region mako sica which means ‘land bad’. Later, when the French people arrived, they named the place les mauvaises terres a traverser. This means a bad land to traverse.

6. The Badlands has been the site for several movies

The Badlands National Park has been used as a site for several movies over the years. Some of these movies include the 1990 Kevin Costner movie titled Dancers with Wolves.

The park is used as Lieutenant Dunbar’s wagon trek. The Badlands also appears in the 1997 science fiction movie Starship Troopers.  In the movie, the site is used as an alien planet that is home to man-eating creatures.

The park has also appeared in Armageddon, a movie that was produced in 1998.

7. Several fossils millions of years old were found at the Badlands

Boardwalk at the Badlands. Photo by Chris Light/

Mammal fossils that are millions of years old were found on the Badlands terrain. These fossils include Eocene-Oligocene mammals that are said to be more than 34 million years old.

Those unearthed there include fossils of marine animals, rhinoceroses, and three-toed horses. These fossils are on display at the Badlands Fossil Exhibit Trail as well as at various museums around the world.

8. The Oglala Lakota community carried out ghost dances to try and restore the land to them

Bison at the Badlands National Park. Photo by photos multimedia/

There are native communities that used the Badlands region as hunting grounds for generations. In the late 19^th settlers, white settlers were moving into these regions and pushed out these native settlers out.

To prevent the Oglala Lakota community from losing their land, one of their prophets began organizing what is known as ghost dances.

Wovoka the prophet, had asked some of the community members to dance in ghost shirts which they believed were bulletproof. The dances did not result in the restoration of the land as had been indicated.

What resulted was the 1890 massacres in which 300 Indians and about 80 US officials died. Today the National Park Service manages the Stronghold District in which the Oglala Lakota territory lies.

9. The Badlands region was used to test explosives during World War II

Stronghold District has an incredible history that includes more than the communities that lived there thousands of years ago. During the Second World War, the US Air Force took acres of land from the Oglala Lakota community which they used as gunnery. 

The 341,726 acres seized were used to test air to ground and air to air explosives. There are a number of undetonated explosives that continue to resurface in the area.

10. The Badlands National Park is home to a species that was almost extinct

Prairie Dogs in the Badlands National Park. Photo by Badlands Park/

In the 20^th Century, one of the species that almost became extinct is the black-footed ferret. With a significant reduction in the number of prairie dogs that the ferrets feed on, the ferrets almost became extinct.

Once thought to be extinct a small colony of ferrets was spotted in Wyoming in the 1980s.

The small population of ferrets was introduced into the Badlands National Park in 1994. There are hundreds of ferrets currently found at the park. Although the Badlands National Park is almost without vegetation, there are a number of animal species that call the park home.

These animals include coyotes, pronghorn antelope, bison, jackrabbits, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and the endangered black-footed ferret. There are a number of bird species also available and tree species such as the Great Plains cottonwood and the Rocky Mountain juniper.