NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



southwest. The tough gumbo soils 

 of this arid region are much eroded in 

 some places and support only a small 

 range of plant and animal life. Trees, 

 such as cottonwoods, and hackberries 

 are found chiefly along the streams, 

 most of which often go dry. The higher 

 areas supply pasture only, when suffi- 

 cient moisture permits. 



c. The southern quarter comprises 

 the big Bad Lands of the White River 

 and their southern uplands, the sandy 

 loams and clays of which afford fine 

 pasture-land and many fine agricultural 

 tracts. This region consists mostly 

 of Miocene (Arikaree) very little Plio- 

 cene and Pleistocene while its greatly 

 eroded northern and northwestern parts, 

 known as the Big Bad Lands of the 

 White River, are exposures, on a grand 

 scale, of Oligocene (Brule and Chadron) 3 

 age and support little plant life. 



These Bad Lands (Mauvaises Terres), 

 about 50 by 75 mi. in extent, are among 

 the most picturesque erosional regions 

 in the world and their many varieties of 

 fossils are world famous. Here are 

 canyons, spires, walls, and many gro- 

 tesque formations, which yield remains 

 of prehistoric animal life of astonishing 

 variety, some of which are related to 

 modern animals such as turtles, camels, 

 and horses. This area is practically 

 unchanged except where an occasional 

 settlement on the lower flat ground has 

 resulted in cultivation of limited areas. 



d. The fourth area, the Black Hills, 

 with their partly pine-clad sides, rising 

 above the plain to an altitude of 6000 

 to 7000 ft. above sea level, present the 

 most wonderful part of South Dakota. 

 In certain respects they are unsurpassed 

 in beauty and geologic interest by any 

 other mountainous region in the world. 

 They intercept much moisture and on 

 this account plant 4 and animal life is 

 much more abundant than on the plains. 

 Bear, deer, bison, and antelope (origi- 

 nally wild but now mostly in parks) are 



s O'Harra, C. C. The White River Bad Lands. 

 S. D. School of Mines. Bull. 13, 181 pp. plus 96 

 plates, 1920. (This contains a nearly complete 

 bibliography.) 



< O'Harra, C. C. O'Harra's Handbook of the 

 Black Hills. 159 pp., 1913. 



among the larger mammals. The plant 

 life partly parallels that of the middle 

 and eastern states, and is largely un- 

 changed except occasionally by lumber- 

 ing and by fire. This region (60 by 

 120 mi.) with its long axis nearly north- 

 west and southeast, presents an oval- 

 shaped uplift of Proterozoic, Palaeozoic, 

 and Mesozoic formations interspersed 

 with valuable metalliferous igneous 

 dykes bearing gold, silver, and other use- 

 ful metals and minerals. The whole 

 region is interspersed by gorges, deep 

 canyons, parks, and caves of great scien- 

 tific interest and indescribable beauty. 

 The rocky formations vary from the 

 red and yellow clays and sandstones to 

 the white limestone and pearly gypsum 

 at the outer borders of the Red Valley, 

 while the more somber colors of schists 

 and ore-bearing strata blend with the 

 pines and wide variety of hardwoods of 

 the interior in a way which one may 

 never forget. 



n. BIOTA (E. J. P.) 

 A. Grassland 



a. Tall grass prairie (True prairie, 

 Clements'). The tall grass or Andro- 

 pogon prairie occupied the eastern part 

 of the state, 6 except that part in which 

 deciduous forest growth is possible 

 stream valleys and small lake basins. 

 This is dominated by tall grasses among 

 which the blue stems (Andropogon 

 furcatus and A. scoparius}, Indian grass 

 (Sorghastrum nutans) and spear or needle 

 grass (Stipa spartea) are important. 

 Many other herbaceous plants bearing 

 beautiful flowers are abundant. 



Mammals: In the tall grass prairie 

 of eastern South Dakota are probably 

 found such mammals as the long-tailed 

 weasel (Mustela 1. longicauda\ Northern 

 Plains skunk (Mephitis hudsonica), 

 badger (Taxidea taxus subsp.), eastern 

 coyote (Canis latrans}, gray wolf (Cam's 

 nubilus}, striped ground-squirrel (Citel- 

 lus t. tridecemlineatus] , prairie pocket- 

 gopher (Geomys bursarius), Dakota 



'Rydberg, P. A. Flora of the Black Hills of 

 South Dakota. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb., Vol. 3, 

 1896. (Petry, E. J. Plant Treasures of the Black 

 Hills. Proc. S. D. Hort. Soc. 1924.) 



