Dean M. Chriss
Photography
Badlands at Sunset, Badlands National Park, South Dakota
(Click image to enlarge)
The last warm rays of sunlight bring out the shapes and textures of pinnacles
that rise above the flatlands in Badlands National Park. The park protects 242,756 acres (98240 Ha) of sharply eroded
buttes and pinnacles, along with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in
the United States. Part of this area is a 64,144 acre (25958 Ha) designated
wilderness area. This wilderness is one site where black-footed ferrets, one of
the most endangered mammals in the world, was reintroduced. The U.S. National
Park Service manages the park, with the South Unit being co-managed with the
Oglala Lakota tribe.