What Are Badlands??

Badlands National Park in South Dakota is famous for its eponymous formations. It’s striking fins, buttes, mesas, and overall eroded geography make for some truly spectacular geological formations.

In fact, Badlands National Park is actually where that term originated. All subsequent badlands have been named after it. From the famous Bryce Canyon Hoodoos to the blockbuster Lord of the Rings Putangirua Pinnacles, Badlands occur all over the world. Badlands are simply heavily eroded areas of sedimentary rock.

In this explainer, you’ll learn:

How badlands got their name
What badlands are
How badlands form
Why badlands are important for archaeology

Enjoy!

[neuroticthoughts]

Badlands is a remake of the Classic CTF Badlands from Team Fortress Classic, and was released in the February 14, 2008 Patch. Much of the map has been changed and the map type has been changed from Capture the Flag to Control Point. The map consists of a base for each team, an open second point for each team located on the top of a hill, and a center point on the bridge.

[TreeFullz]

South Dakota changed my life. The whole area from the Black Hills to the Badlands to Wind Cave. Such an eclectic mix of three different climates. It definitely creates some weird, unique instances you have to see and experience to understand

[zpirateko]

The badlands, formerly and commonly referred to as the mesa biome, are uncommon warm biomes, featuring mounds of terracotta, coming in various colors. There are three different variants of the badlands biome.

Badlands biomes feature large mounds of terracotta, in layers of various colors; specifically, red, orange, yellow, white, light gray, brown, and regular terracotta may all naturally generate. These mounds rise up from a layer of red sand, and are about 10-15 blocks thick, giving way to typical stone variants below that. Cactus and dead bushes generate frequently across the landscape, similarly to deserts. Badlands biomes generate in warm regions and in areas with low erosion, which means that they usually generate in areas with plateaus and sometimes even mountain peaks.

Mineshafts generate at much higher elevations in these biomes, often exposed to fresh air. Their supporting planks and fences are made of dark oak rather than oak. Additionally, gold ore generates up to elevation Y=255 (rather than the normal Y=32), and at much higher rates than the rest of the world, making badlands tunnels excellent sources of gold.

While all badlands biomes are rich in unique building materials and gold ore, there are no passive mobs. Furthermore, trees, grass, and water are uncommon, so food cultivation can be difficult. Trees and grass appear only atop wooded badlands.

Being a dry biome, it never rains, meaning lightning strikes are impossible. The exceptions are the rivers that cut through the badlands, where it can still rain and cast lightning. The usual darkening of the sky and hostile mob spawning that accompany thunderstorms still occurs during inclement weather.

[acousticmotorcycle]

I wondered about the aquatic history of Badlands. Didn't realize the Rockies had so much to do with it. Can't wait to visit this park in person!

[demetrialowther]

Two of the biggest factors that allows badlands to form (as there are many areas in the world with similar sedimentary conditions that don't form badlands) is the combination of the region's rainfall patterns and the fertility of the rock/soil.

Firstly, the fertility is a big issue. Sedimentary soils/stone can be a wildly diverse in its fertility, but generally, freshwater sediments laid down by rivers tend to be nutrient rich while anything related to shallow ocean formations tends to be stripped of any soluble minerals and is just the inert crystalline component of rock (like growing in crushed glass). A lot of these badlands also have the addition of clay particles, which, when blended with already nutrient poor larger material, forms a soil that is extremely difficult for plants to take root in in the first place. Plants in clay soils or infertile, nutrient-poor material tend to grow slowly, have shallow and frail roots that don't generally hold soil together well or grow fast enough to stabilise damaged ground.

The other component is obviously rainfall. While low average rainfall tends to be important to badlands formation, its the pattern this rain is delivered in that is most important. If the rain falls fairly evenly though the year (like the drizzly greyness of much of the UK), then runnoff is not much of an issue and plants can take advantage of the rain. If the rain falls in cycles of drought and flood (like in Australia), the usual rainfall is too low for plants to grow and when it does fall, it falls in such a deluge that it almost all becomes runoff. If the terrain slope is such that the runoff reaches a critical flow speed, it begins to incise the terrain with erosion gullies. The rain will often wash away seeds that could help to stabilise the exposed ground and the water is gone before much has soaked into the ground and the cycle repeats.

If these two factors come together, you end up with an area that is almost impossible to stabilise and will enters a positive feedback loop where its existence creates the conditions that further drive its existence, that is, until the point that it has been eroded flat and the runoff mechanism ceases.

[mtadams]

I first visited the Bad Lands in 1977. I had graduated from high school and drove out to Wyoming and Colorado to go rock climbing and visit some national parks like Yellowstone. We started our trip from Massachusetts. I had never even heard of the Band Lands. We sort of stumbled upon them. We spent a couple of days hiking around the park. It was a magical time I’m my life and so was the park. I have been back a few more times. It’s a beautiful place. A must visit. Thanks for such a wonderful video which explains so much. Take care

[swishdjr]

wow, this is amazing, can’t believe they named it after badlands chugs, what a legend

[Hadvar]

What surprised me about this is how the badlands look less intimidating to me than the unbelievably flat plains beyond. I've lived my entire life surrounded by wooded hills and the Appalachian Mountains, having been outside of this biome only a handful of times, to Florida or California. So the somewhat mountainous feel of the badlands comes across as less frightening than the infinite flatness of the plains.

[mannymayer]

The badlands are wonderful to see. Bring a camera and lots of time for viewing. I hadn’t realized the Cheyenne river had such an influence on the badlands topography. Thank you

[luisoutumuro]

The Badlands are stunning... all of them.

In the early 80's I worked on a portable seismograph crew. We would fly by helicopter our equipment & trucks into the Badlands for underground exploration of mineral, petroleum and water resources.

[johnchedsey]

Everyone should try to visit Badlands at least once. Stunning landscape.

[jonash]

I've been to the South Dakota badlands. Its incredible to look at.

[truckert]

The ones in South Dakota have amazing coloring in places. A must visit even if your just passing through; dal a few extra hours and take the drive.

[coyotekent]

I watched this video because of Elden Ring, and I’m surprised to learn that Badlands are an actual thing! Really cool

[tzinanechumah]

Beautiful. Your Badlands remind me of our beaches at The Dead Sea.

[rubytuesu]

I grew up in rapid city near by. My favorite part about the badlands are all the fossils lying about. Not to mention fairburn agates which are beautiful

[hodgdog]

I love the comparison to a construction site. Great videos, keep it up!

[ViroVV]

THANK YOU!!!!

I was suffering from severe insomnia and you put me out like a light.

[aperezvoyages]

Love this channel! What an interesting information I’ll take on the national parks. Definitely learning a lot from you my man

[GaiaCarney]

Great video, National Park Diaries 🕊 thanks for sharing