Beyond the Badlands
Black Hills Underground
The Ranch - Hitting The Wall - Custer Capers - Wild Life - More Rushes - Corny

   Leaving the Badlands behind, we entered The Black Hills, named for their dark covering of pines and cedars. Besides the beauty of the countryside and rich wildlife, we also found some fascinating things underground. The area is a treasure trove of geology and paleontology.

Our first stop was Hot Springs, SD, appropriately named for its warm-flowing natural waters. Katie took a swim at "Evans Plunge" - a 100 year old spa/indoor pool that is actually re-filled 16 times daily from the naturally-flowing 89 degree springs.

    About a mile from Hot Springs you'll find the Mammoth Site, a paleontologic wonder where intact woolly mamoth fossils have been discovered and left "in situ," meaning the bones are excavated but left in-place for reasearch and the delight of tourists who can view them close-up!





   The site represents a "trap" formed by the same Hot Springs of today, flowing thousands of year ago and attracting large animals during the cold Winters. Over time, a "sink hole" formed that caused many large animals, including the mammoths, to fall in without escape. These fossils are well preserved and offer scientists the ability to even judge weather patterns by the microscopic measurement of growth rings in tusks!

   The Black Hills have many caves to explore and we visited two NPS sites at Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument. Both of these caves are some of the largest explored in the world, and both offer many unique features. Wind Cave gets its name from the air rushing in and out of the entrances as the barometric pressure changes. "Boxwork" (see photo at the top of the page) is very rare, and is a common feature in Wind Cave.




Jewel Cave is quite different even though it's less than 20 miles from Wind Cave. Jewel gets it name from the almost complete covering of the cave in various calcium carbonate formations. It's much larger and quite breath-taking! While I was surprised that my photos "turned out" in the caves, they really can't do the place justice and I encourage you to visit the websites for a better look.




Look closely and you'll see a "ribbon" stretching over 20'. It looked like a flowing rainbow!


Links
Mammoth Site
Wind Cave
Jewel Cave



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