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
Nov 10, 2025Black-tailed prairie dogs in Badlands National Park, United States

More Desktop Wallpapers:

What’s blooming so brightly?
Nov 23, 2023Victoria Memorial, Kolkata, India
Jul 26, 2025International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem
Sep 28, 2023Container ship near a port in Thailand
Where is this historic hotel?
Oct 9, 2024Aspens near Marble, Colorado, USA
Mar 5, 2024Bangkok, Thailand
Apr 12, 2025International Day of Human Space Flight
Nov 18, 2023Polar bear mother and cubs, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Jan 9, 2025Sossusvlei sand dunes, Namib desert, Namibia
Feb 1, 2026Colourful house in Olinda, Brazil
Oct 10, 2023Mount Sopris, Colorado
Aug 19, 2024Raksha Bandhan
Himalaya mountain range
Oct 8, 2025World Octopus Day
Nov 7, 2025Polar bear in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Apr 8, 2024Burrowing owl chicks
Jun 4, 2025Cala Luna beach, Sardinia, Italy
Sep 30, 2023Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
More of a moustache than a beard?
Pearl among the emeralds
Dec 27, 2025Plate ice along Lake Superior, Minnesota, United States
Jul 10, 2024Collared aracari
Jul 26, 2024Kargil Vijay Diwas
May 14, 2025Porto Flavia, Sulcis-Iglesiente, Sardinia, Italy
Mar 2, 2024Modica, Sicily, Italy
Jan 21, 2025Eurasian red squirrel
Meet an expert on the dog days of summer
Stretching to the sky
Dec 22, 2023Red Fort, Delhi