Forty-four years ago today, a rugged, inhospitable area of South Dakota was designated a national park to protect the many fossils found there. The region has a 12,000-year history as hunting grounds for Native Americans. In fact, the name we know it by today, Badlands, comes from the Lakota phrase "mako sica," which literally translates to "bad lands." Covering nearly 380 square miles, its harshly eroded rock formations make it one of the most distinct landscapes in the United States.
Badlands National Park turns 44
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Groundhog Day
-
Let’s talk fossils
-
Colle Santa Lucia, Dolomites, Italy
-
Paradise Cave, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam
-
Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art
-
National Fossil Day
-
Sea Otter Awareness Week
-
Bathing in the light of Pride
-
Feelin groovy on Record Store Day
-
A circular celebration
-
Ring of fire solar eclipse
-
Bonsai Rock, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
-
World Elephant Day
-
Rethymno, Crete, Greece
-
Santorini through the clouds
-
A bull, some flowers, and a stratovolcano
-
Steyr River, Austria
-
Okefenokee Swamp
-
South Stack Lighthouse, Holy Island, Wales
-
Hen Galan
-
Penguins can t fly!
-
El Valle de la Luna, Chile
-
50 years of the Endangered Species Act
-
Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
-
Sequoia National Parks 134th anniversary
-
Earth Science Week
-
Merry Christmas!
-
South Padre Island, Texas
-
National Dolphin Day
-
A century since Tut s tomb was discovered
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

