47 years of Badlands National Park Nov 10, 2025

47 years of Badlands National Park

On November 10, 47 years ago, a stark stretch of South Dakota prairie gained recognition as one of America"s natural treasures. Badlands National Park, carved by wind and water, was redesignated from national monument to national park status in 1978, securing stronger protection within the National Park System. Its cliffs and spires rise above fossil beds that reveal ancient rhinoceroses, camels, and subtropical seas. Yet the park is not only a window into the past; it also safeguards one of the largest remaining tracts of mixed-grass prairie in the US.

© Greg Vaughn/Getty Images

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Today in History

Nov 10, 2018The Badlands celebrates a milestone
Nov 10, 2019Sunny day, sweepin the clouds away
Nov 10, 2020Baddest of the badlands
Nov 10, 2021Cumberland Island National Seashore
Nov 10, 2022Badlands National Park turns 44
Nov 10, 2023Badlands National Parks 45th anniversary
Nov 10, 2024Caribbean flamingos, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

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Apr 10, 2019Siblings that play together…
Mar 10, 2022Bobbio, Italy
Apr 28, 2019A good time in the Badlands
Feb 28, 2019Over and under the delta
Apr 24, 2022Dark Sky Week
Nov 4, 2021Diwali
Dec 17, 2021Bournemouth beach huts
May 12, 2024Happy Mothers Day!
Aug 4, 2019Pups of the prairie
May 28, 2023Tegallalang terrace farms in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
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Jun 29, 2020Goats don t grow on trees
Apr 25, 2025World Penguin Day
Jun 1, 2022World Reef Day
Aug 31, 2021Bridge over the River Tara
Nov 4, 2023National Bison Day
Jan 3, 2025Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!
Jul 24, 2022Amelia Earhart
Oct 19, 2022Wartburg Castle overlooking Thuringian Forest in Germany
Feb 23, 2022Point Reyes National Seashore
Jan 11, 2023Umschreibung by Olafur Eliasson in Munich
Jun 30, 2020We re gonna need a bigger birdhouse
Jul 3, 2021Diving into the underwater nirvana
Feb 21, 2022Presidents Day
Jun 22, 2018Celebrating Take Your Dog to Work Day
Aug 30, 2020Hay, what s up?
Feb 26, 2020 The Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic
Mar 19, 2021Life carries on, rising from a ship s skeleton