Badlands National Park

Badlands national park is located in high Great Plains of southwestern South Dakota east of the Black Hills. The position highest elevation is 3282 ft on Sheep Mountain the lowest elevation is 2460 ft along Sage Creek. The park is nearly 244,000 acres and coered with shrewdly eroded buttes, surrounded by a mixture of grass prairie. both(prenominal) of the major geologic attractions are the stunning landscape and the wildlife it quarters. The geologic fountain of the park reveals that it was deposited in layers. The layers are composed of depositarys such as sand, silt, and the Great Compromiser that have been cemented to form sedimentary rocks.The sedimentary rocks in this area were deposited during the young cretaceous Period which was 67 to 75 one million million million years ago. evidence and erosion are geologic process that created the defining of The Badlands. well-nigh of the formations that took designate at the Badlands National Park are The Sharp formation is fairylike in color and deposited by wind and water in the modify and cool climate that existed 28-30 million years ago during the Oligocene Epochs period. The Brule formation is chromatic brown in color and consists of bands of sandstone deposited by channels of ancient rivers that flowed in the Black Hills.This formation took place 30-34 million years ago as well as during the Oligocene Epochs period. The Chadron formation is grayish in color and consists of dodos from early mammals like the three- walk vaulting horse and the large titanothere deposited by rivers across the flood plain. This formation took place 34-37 million years ago during the Eocene period. The upper layers are Yellow mounds weathered by yellow soil and black ocean mud that have contained fossil sand, or paleosol. The Pierre Shale is black in color and deposited by sediment filtered through seawater and black mud on the sea account that hardened into Shale.This formation took place 69-75 million years ag o during the Cretaceous Period. Some of the fossils found in the shale consist of clams, ammonites, and sea reptiles that proved this was a sea environment. Badlands National Park has found fossils dating 23 to 35 million years old that contains the worlds richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds. The Badlands formation has helped geologist study the evolution of early mammal species such as horse, sheep, rhinoceros, and pigs. The crush scientific knowledge of early mammals came from the Oligocene Period that last 23-35 million years ago.Some of the fossils that were found were Leptomeryx- deer like, gloomy and fragile had even toed hooves Oreodonts- sheep like in appearance name means mountain tooth Archaeotherium- a distant relative of the pig had sharp canines Hoplophoneus- distant cousin of the cavalry sword tooth tiger, size of a leopard Subhyracodon- similar to that of a rhinoceros Ischromys- a small squirrel like rodent Metamynodon- a massive rhinoceros, like that of a genus Hip pocampus Paleolagus- an ancestral rabbit The geologic time is illustrated below and represents the time delineate in the park. (Stoffer, 2003)The biggest issue that faces the Badlands National park is weathering and erosion. This has been the major driving pull back in the formation of this park and will eventually make the buttes and the spires flat. Some of the other issues are non-native grasses and weeds festering out of control. This non-native grass is growing at an incredible rate and will eventually take over and kill the native grass. Increasing garbage and waste problems are an existent issue with the amount of visitors each year. Recent developments west of the park is create air and water pollution that is effecting plant and animal habitants in the area.