Badlands
Badlands, an area of severe erosion, marked by deep ravines, sharp ridges, pinnacles, and other landforms carved by running water. Badlands occur throughout the world in arid and semiarid regions where rains, though infrequent, are hard and particularly erosive when they do occur. Usually there is no vegetative covering on the land, allowing rapid runoff of water. The underlying material of badlands is generally soft rocks, clays, and shales.
Badlands may form either by a natural process or as a result of improper use, such as the overgrazing of range land. Because of the extremely rough terrain, badlands are of no agricultural value, are difficult to cross, and have been avoided for permanent settlement.
The badlands of southwestern South Dakota cover about 2,000 square miles (5,200 km2). About one-fifth of this area is included in Badlands National Park. Multicolored rock formations and many fossils make these badlands a popular tourist attraction. There are also badlands in other states, including North Dakota, Montana, Utah, and California.