Badlands National Park turns 44 Nov 10, 2022

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.

© DEEPOL by plainpicture

palette

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, 2023Badlands National Parks 45th anniversary
Nov 10, 2024Caribbean flamingos, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Nov 10, 202547 years of Badlands National Park

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 19, 2018Talk like a pirate—or walk the plank
Dec 3, 2025Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
Jan 17, 2024Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany
Oct 3, 2025Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Jun 28, 2021A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean
Apr 4, 2023Roman bridge of Córdoba, Spain
Jun 14, 2023Flag Day
Sep 21, 2021An old celebration for a new season
Apr 14, 2018It’s National Dolphin Day!
Feb 6, 2022Oymyakon, Russia
Aug 31, 2020At the shore of an inland sea
Jan 15, 2018Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC
May 25, 2024Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
May 29, 2018The first ascent
Aug 11, 2020Sea fireflies at the seashore
Mar 27, 2022World Theatre Day
Jun 1, 2021Pretty poetic for a pit
Sep 23, 2021Last stop before leaving the solar system
Jan 7, 2022Nazaré Lighthouse
Apr 17, 2020It s a ruff life
Mar 28, 2020The meeting point of the winds
Oct 15, 2024Great wildebeest migration at Mara River, Kenya
Jan 8, 2024Bernina Pass, Graubünden, Switzerland
Nov 9, 2022European hedgehog in Sussex, England
Aug 19, 2019On the wings of the Wright brothers
Jul 8, 2023Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Arkansas
Feb 28, 2025Tibetan New Year
Feb 21, 2021Overlooking the Douro
Mar 18, 2021A sizzling summit hides in the clouds
Nov 2, 2020Waiting for winter