Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States Nov. 10, 2025

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States

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 United States" 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 country.

© Greg Vaughn/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Postcard from the Canadian Rockies
Nov. 10, 2023Badlands National Park anniversary
Nov. 10, 2024Caribbean flamingos, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb. 13, 2024Mardi Gras
Dec. 8, 2024Notre-Dame reopens
Jun. 27, 2025Splendid leaf frog
Chasing summer in the art world
Jun. 10, 2024The city of Osaka at night, Japan
This lake is no mirage
Mar. 12, 2024Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
Nov. 18, 2025Male hooded merganser, Oregon, United States
Oct. 18, 2023Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Dec. 12, 2023Poinsettia Day
Frosty Finland
Nov. 7, 2023Kirkilai lakes, Biržai Regional Park, Lithuania
Where is this scenic view?
Oct. 23, 2023Corn maze in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania
Sep. 2, 2023Allens Hummingbird
Apr. 15, 2025World Art Day
Feb. 6, 2024Lake Tahoe
Freshwater diving capital
Dec. 17, 2023Bohemian waxwings
May 23, 2025World Turtle Day
Don’t look down!
Postcard from Italy
Back to the future
The Coast of Death
Sep. 30, 2025Koala in the Great Otway National Park, Australia
40 years of recovery
A pair of high achievers
Aug. 20, 2023International Lighthouse Weekend
Dec. 28, 2024Green sea turtle
A world within a world