Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA Nov 10, 2023

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA

This densely layered image is not an error of your screen, but the fascinating tiers of fossil beds in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Under the multicoloured coating lies the land"s history, conserving the remains of ancient horses, camels, tigers and rhinos. The barren landscape, decorated with pinnacles and prairies, was mainly formed by two contrary forces of nature: deposition (the process of small rocks being moved around and deposited in new places) and erosion (the process of rocks wearing away). The Red Shirt Table, at 1,020 metres, is the highest point on the rugged terrain.

© Grant Ordelheide/Tandem Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Happy birthday Badlands National Park
Nov 10, 2024Caribbean flamingos, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico

More Desktop Wallpapers:

For Mother’s Day, we salute these marsupial moms
Dare to delve into this dense swamp
Sep 28, 2025Town of Pienza in Tuscany, Italy
Gateway to Iberia
Apr 18, 2025International Day for Monuments and Sites
The road less taken?
Nov 27, 2023Río Negro, Amazon basin, Brazil
Jul 11, 2024World Population Day
Nov 8, 2024Glacial rivers, Iceland
Black-and-white bovines
Feb 2, 2025Alappuzha, Kerala
Dec 6, 2023Palolem beach, Goa, India
Incan ingenuity
Sep 17, 2024Mid-Autumn Festival
Jan 13, 2024Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii, USA
Sep 11, 2023Médoc, France
Oct 29, 2024Great horned owl
Stunning symmetry
Jul 26, 2024Kargil Vijay Diwas
Aug 25, 2025Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States
How’s the air up there?
The dawn of a new beginning
Oct 16, 2023Golden larches and Prusik Peak, Enchantments, Washington
Jul 17, 2024Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany
Sep 3, 2024Crystal Lake in the Enchantments, Washington, United States
Wind powered ice racing
Oct 11, 2023The Painted Hills, Oregon
An island park for everyone
Mar 16, 2025Baby giant panda, China
What can you see from this tower?