Badlands

Badlands, region of southwestern South Dakota, about 100 miles (160 km) long and 40 miles (64 km) wide, characterized by an almost total lack of vegetation. Heavily eroded by wind and water, the area shows rugged hills, gullied slopes, steep buttes, fluted pinnacles, and layers of multicolored shales and sandstones. The term “badlands” is also applied to similar regions in western North Dakota, eastern Arizona, northwestern Nebraska, and northern Wyoming.

See also: South Dakota.