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Toadstool Geologic Park

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Toadstool Geologic Park is located in the Oglala National Grassland in far northwestern Nebraska . It is operated by the United States Forest Service . It contains a badlands landscape and a reconstructed sod house . The park is named after its unusual rock formations, many of which resemble toadstools .

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33-557: Toadstool Geologic Park is said to be the " badlands of Nebraska" or the "desert of the Pine Ridge ." The park is open 24 hours a day. Toadstool Park is north of Crawford, Nebraska ; to get to the park, take Nebraska Highway 2 / Nebraska Highway 71 to Toadstool Road. There is a 1-mile loop trail within the park. There are many fossils along the trail; removing fossils is not allowed. Many fossils of large prehistoric animals such as entelodonts and hyaenodons have been found here. Camping

66-646: A UNESCO Global Geopark in 2019. Garbeta , Eastern India is a badlands located in a monsoon climate. Chambal spread across northern parts of Madhya Pradesh , southeastern Rajasthan and southern parts of Uttar Pradesh known for its lawlessness and dacoity is another example of badlands. A small strip of badlands is also found in western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana . In Italy , badlands are called "calanchi". Some examples are Aliano ( Basilicata ), Crete Senesi ( Tuscany ) and Civita di Bagnoregio ( Lazio ). A well-known badlands formation in New Zealand

99-602: A clay veneer, and still others have a biological crust of algae or lichens . In addition to lacking significant regolith, they also lack much vegetation. The lack of vegetation could very well be a result of the lack of a substantial regolith. Although most badland topography is natural, badlands have been produced artificially by destruction of vegetation cover, through overgrazing , acid rain , or acid mine drainage . The Cheltenham Badlands in Caledon, Ontario are an example of badlands produced by poor farming practices . In

132-711: A hideout for outlaws . There is a large badland area in Alberta , particularly in the valley of the Red Deer River , where Dinosaur Provincial Park is located, as well as in Drumheller , where the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is located. Zhangye National Geopark is a badlands area known for its colorful rock formations. It was voted by Chinese media outlets as one of the most beautiful landforms in China and became

165-639: A layer of unweathered shale. Badlands such as those found in the Mancos Shale , the Brule Formation , the Chadron Formation , and the Dinosaur Provincial Park can be generally said to fit this profile. In less arid regions, the regolith profile can vary considerably. Some badlands have no regolith layer whatsoever, capping instead in bare rock such as sandstone . Others have a regolith with

198-425: A number of changes in landscape. These include the formation of waterfalls and rapids, knick points, river terraces and incised meanders. Rejuvenated terrains usually have complex landscapes because remnants of older landforms are locally preserved. Parts of floodplains may be preserved as terraces alongside the down-cutting stream channels. Meandering streams may become entrenched , so a product of older river systems

231-479: A result of natural processes, but destruction of vegetation by overgrazing or pollution can produce anthropogenic badlands. Badlands are characterized by a distinctive badlands topography . This is terrain in which water erosion has cut a very large number of deep drainage channels, separated by short, steep ridges ( interfluves ). Such a drainage system is said to have a very fine drainage texture, as measured by its drainage density . Drainage density

264-411: A result, perpetuates the downward erosive power of existing rivers. A knickpoint is a point on the river's course where there is a change in the gradient of the river profile. An example of a visible knickpoint would be a waterfall. However, some knickpoints can be concealed in the landscape. It is important that while there are other contributing factors to such features in the landscape, rejuvenation

297-413: A river profile, which often appears as a rapids or a waterfall. An example is Seljalandsfoss in southern Iceland , where isostatic (dynamic) uplift has occurred as a result of both construction and deglaciation. Static rejuvenation may also occur, in rare instances, when a downstream knickpoint erodes its way upstream to a lake which establishes base level for its tributaries. When the knickpoint reaches

330-653: A terrain of lava flows that is unlike the eroded badlands of the White River. Badlands are generally unsuitable for agriculture, but attempts have been made to remediate badlands. For example, reforestation is being attempted in the Garbeta badlands of Eastern India. Revegetation and reforestation have been studied in the black marl badlands of the French Alps . Austrian black pine can become established and then be gradually replaced by native deciduous species. However,

363-550: A type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay -rich soils have been extensively eroded . They are characterized by steep slopes, minimal vegetation , lack of a substantial regolith , and high drainage density . Ravines , gullies , buttes , hoodoos and other such geologic forms are common in badlands. Badlands are found on every continent except Antarctica, being most common where there are unconsolidated sediments . They are often difficult to navigate by foot, and are unsuitable for agriculture. Most are

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396-816: Is Toadstool Geologic Park in the Oglala National Grassland located in northwestern Nebraska . Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah are also badlands settings, along with several other areas in southern Utah, such as the Chinle Badlands in Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument . A small badland called Hell's Half-Acre is present in Natrona County , Wyoming . Additional badlands also exist in various places throughout southwest Wyoming, such as near Pinedale and in

429-477: Is a system of pipes, joints, caverns , and other connected void spaces in the subsurface through which water can drain. However, this is not a universal feature of badlands. For example, the Henry Mountains badlands show very little piping. The precise processes by which the erosion responses take place vary depending on the precise interbedding of the sedimentary material. However, it has been estimated that

462-481: Is available and there are two toilets. The Bison Trail to Hudson-Meng Bison Kill is a 3-mile hike. The route crosses Whitehead Creek, which forms a ravine splitting the plain between the geologic park and the kill bed interpretive center. [REDACTED] Media related to Toadstool Geologic Park at Wikimedia Commons This Dawes County , Nebraska state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Badlands Badlands are

495-465: Is channeled into a very dense system of streamlets that erode a dense system of ever-enlarging, coalescing gulleys and ravines. Erosion is enhanced by pelting raindrops that dislodge soft sediments. The presence of bentonite clay further increases erodibility , as can rejuvenation of the drainage system from regional uplift , as occurred at Badlands National Park . In addition to surface erosion, badlands sometimes have well-developed piping , which

528-499: Is defined as the total length of drainage channels per unit area of land surface. Badlands have a very high drainage density of 48 to 464 kilometres per square kilometre (77 to 747 miles per square mile). The numerous deep drainage channels and high interfluves creates a stark landscape of hills , gullies , and ravines . In addition to a dense system of drainages and interfluves, badlands often contain buttes and hoodoos . These are formed by resistant beds of sandstone, which form

561-404: Is eroding the landscape in response to a lowering of its base level . The process is often a result of a sudden fall in sea level or the rise of land. The disturbance enables a rise in the river's gravitational potential energy change per unit distance, increasing its riverbed erosion rate. The erosion occurs as a result of the river adjusting to its new base level. River rejuvenation can lead to

594-522: Is found with steep, very pronounced V-shaped valleys - often seen with younger systems. One ancient example of rejuvenation is the Nile , which was rejuvenated when the Mediterranean Sea dried up in the late Miocene . Its base level dropped from sea level to over two miles below sea level. It cut its bed down to several hundred feet below sea level at Aswan and 8000 feet below sea level at Cairo . After

627-590: Is part of Navajo County encompasses numerous badlands that also abuts the Navajo Indian Reservation and is directly north of Joseph City, Arizona . Many dinosaurs are believed to be buried in the immediate area and exploration has been ongoing since the early 20th century. Among the Henry Mountains area in Utah, about 4,900 ft (1,500 m) above sea level, Cretaceous - and Jurassic -aged shales are exposed. Another popular area of badland formations

660-778: Is the Roman gold mine of Las Médulas in northern Spain. The word badlands is a calque from the Canadian French phrase les mauvaises terres , as the early French fur traders called the White River badlands les mauvaises terres à traverser or 'bad lands to traverse', perhaps influenced by the Lakota people who moved there in the late 1700s and who referred to the terrain as mako sica , meaning 'bad land' or 'eroded land'. The term malpaís means 'badlands' in Spanish , but refers to

693-417: Is the change in sea level due to variation in capacity of ocean basins, whereas glacio-eustasy is the change in sea level due to withdrawal or return of water into the oceans, due to the accumulation or melting of successive ice sheets. Eustatic rejuvenation relocates the mouth of the stream. Shifting of a stream toward a new lower base level will proceed up-valley. The result may be an interrupted profile with

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726-619: The Bridger Valley near the towns of Lyman and Mountain View , near the high Uintah Mountains . Pinnacles National Park in California also has areas of badlands, as does the Mojave Desert in eastern California . Badlands have become a popular trope inside various media, particularly westerns . Rejuvenation (river) In geomorphology a river is said to be rejuvenated when it

759-806: The Putangirua Pinnacles , formed by the erosion of the conglomerate of an old alluvial fan – is located at the head of a small valley near the southern tip of the North Island . The Bardenas Reales near Tudela, Navarre , the Tabernas Desert in Tabernas, Almería , parts of the Granada Altiplano near Guadix and possibly Los Monegros in Aragon are examples of Spanish badlands. Turkey has extensive badlands, including Göreme National Park . In

792-444: The caprock of the buttes and hoodoos. Badlands arise from a combination of an impermeable but easily eroded ground surface, sparse vegetation , and infrequent but heavy rainfall. The surface bedrock is typically mudrock , sometimes with evaporites , with only occasional beds of more resistant sandstone . Infrequent heavy rains lead to heavy erosional dissection. Where sudden precipitation cannot penetrate impermeable clays, it

825-555: The Mediterranean re-flooded, those gorges gradually filled with silt. Rejuvenation may result from causes which are dynamic, eustatic or isostatic in nature. All of these cause the river to erode its bed vertically (downcutting) faster as it gains gravitational potential energy . That causes effects such as incised meanders , steps where the river suddenly starts flowing faster, and fluvial terraces derived from old floodplains . A region can be uplifted at any stage. This lowers

858-582: The U.S., Makoshika State Park in Montana and Badlands National Park in South Dakota are examples of extensive badland formations. Also located in this region is Theodore Roosevelt National Park , a United States National Park composed of three geographically separated areas of badlands in western North Dakota named after former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt . Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona which

891-439: The badlands of Badlands National Park erode at the relatively high rate of about one inch or 25 millimetres per year. The White River draining Badlands National Park was so named for its heavy load of bentonite clay eroded from the badlands. Badlands are partially characterized by their thin to nonexistent regolith layers. The regolith profiles of badlands in arid climates are likely to resemble one another. In these regions,

924-522: The base level and streams begin active downward erosion again. Dynamic rejuvenation may be caused by the epeirogenic uplift of a land mass. Warping or faulting of a drainage basin will steepen the stream gradient followed by the downcutting. The effect of seaward tilting can be felt immediately only when the direction of that stream is parallel to the direction of tilting. Eustatic rejuvenation results from worldwide decrease in sea level, and two types of such rejuvenation are recognized. Diastrophic eustasy

957-426: The early 1900s, the area was used for agricultural purposes, predominantly cattle grazing . Agricultural use ceased by 1931 and natural recovery of the majority of the property began. Once established, however, this type of erosion can continue rapidly, if land clearing, overgrazing, and increased foot traffic by humans persists, as the shale is highly susceptible to erosion. An example of badlands created by mining

990-595: The lake, the lake drains, and the base level of upstream waters lowers rapidly from that of the (now former or shrunk) lake to that of the river downstream of the knickpoint. At some point in the future, a quite dramatic example will appear when Niagara Falls cuts its way back to Lake Erie . Canyons and gorges are in the initial phase of valley development and are considered some of the most interesting valley forms. These forms result from accelerated entrenchment caused by recent tectonic activity such as especially vertical uplift. The uplift creates high-standing plateaus and as

1023-424: The point of intersection of the old and new base levels. Three changes may bring static rejuvenation, to the stream. Rejuvenation due to decrease in load took place during post glacial times along many valleys that formerly received large quantities of glacial outwash. With change to no glacial conditions stream load decreased and valley deepening ensued. Rejuvenation may result in a "knickpoint", as it appears on

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1056-588: The time scale for this process is many decades. Badlands are found on all the continents except Antarctica . The presence of unconsolidated sediments is a strong control on their locations. The Valle de la Luna ("Valley of the Moon") is one of many examples of badland formations in midwestern Argentina . The Cheltenham Badlands are in Caledon, Ontario , not far from Canada's largest city Toronto . The Big Muddy Badlands in Saskatchewan gained notoriety as

1089-509: The upper layer (~1–5 cm or 0.4–2.0 in) is typically composed of silt , shale , and sand (a byproduct of the weathered shale). This layer can form either a compact crust or a looser, more irregular aggregation of "popcorn" fragments. Located beneath the top layer is a sublayer (~5–10 cm or 2.0–3.9 in), below which can be found a transitional shard layer (~10–40 cm or 3.9–15.7 in), formed largely of loose disaggregated shale chips, which in turn eventually gives way to

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