The 244,000-acres that make up the Badlands National Park is both beautiful and barren. It is located about an hour east of Rapid City, and is well worth the trip.

The name of the area came from the local Sioux Tribes, which described the harsh terrain as "mako sica" or "land bad." The French-Canadian trappers who first visited this part of South Dakota called it "les mauvaises terres à traverser" or "bad land to travel across."

Geological and environmental forces have been at work for ... (more)