Today, as promised last time, we will stick to the otherworldly scenery. Mother nature does her tricks all over the world and creates amazing and unbelievable structures. There is no reason why this should not apply to some places in the USA. And we will have a look at one of such places. It is called “the Badlands”. The name itself makes you wonder already, right?

Now, there is a term badlands in the geologists’ dictionary. It refers to the areas where winds and water have eroded the soil so deeply that almost no vegetation can survive. The areas resemble barren landscapes as seen on the photos taken by NASA’s Curiosity Rover. Such places are pretty common on Earth and can be found not only in the Americas but also in Europe and Australia.

The badlands of South Dakota are part of Badlands National Park and are a prime example of this interesting geological formation. Yes, the name of the park isn’t very creative… And to give you a heads up: in one of the upcoming posts we will visit badwater – you know, for counterbalance :).

Badlands of South Dakota is a lunar landscape placed in the middle of american prairie. Let’s look around.

So you see: the terrain fits the definition of badland perfectly: minimal vegetation, difficult to traverse, out-of-the-place landscape. Moreover, the badlands usually don’t get to the top spots of “must-see” lists. That means that most likely the area will not be extremely crowded. In fact, I haven’t seen other vehicles too often when I was there. Not to mention people on foot.

The colours and the shadows play a great spectacle. And a spectacle that most of the time is not disturbed by anyone or anything. So if you have time to stay long enough to watch the setting  sun I highly advise you to do so.

In the next post we will not travel far from the badlands. And I can say the topic will be monumental..