54 THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS 



people who have settled upon them. The larger ones are 

 Sheep Mountain table, about six miles south-southwest of 

 Scenic; Hart table, between Indian creek and Spring 

 creek; Kube table, between Spring creek and Bear creek; 

 Seventy-one table, between Bear creek and Hay creek ; Quinn 

 table, between Hay creek and Sage creek; Crooked Creek 

 table, between Sage creek and Bull creek ; Lake Flat between 

 Bull creek and the headwaters of Cottonwood creek; White 

 Kiver table, at head of Quinn draw. The last named lies 

 within the Pine Bidge Indian reservation and is of historic 

 interest in that it was used as a fortress by the Indians dur- 

 ing the Indian outbreak of 1891. 



The chief factors in badland development are these: 

 first, a climate with a low rainfall more or less concen- 

 trated into heavy showers; second, scarcity of deep rooted 

 vegetation; third, slightly consolidated nearly homogenous 

 fine-grained sediments lying at a considerable height above 

 the main drainage channels, the occasional hard layers or 

 beds that may be present being thin and in horizontal posi- 

 tion. All of these favor rapid, steep, and diversified sculp- 

 turing. As already stated, the White and the Cheyenne 

 rivers, not far separated from each other, serve as the main 

 drainage channels for the Badlands and, having cut far be- 

 low the topmost mesas or tables, afford abundant oppor- 

 tunity for rapid run off. The vegetation is scanty. Rich, 

 short grasses are abundant over large areas, but these have 

 not sufficient root-strength to prevent cutting. The gnarled 

 cedars of the higher points also lack such strength, for even 

 these often wage a losing fight and especially in the elongat- 

 ing gulches and on the narrowing tables ;they progress to- 

 ward inevitable destruction. 



The rock material is largely an excessively fine clay, 

 not thoroughly indurated, sometimes massive, sometimes 

 laminated. Sandstones occur locally in some abundance, 

 especially in the upper beds, but never of great thickness 

 and seldom of much lateral extent. Concretions are com- 

 mon and these as well as the sandstones accentuate the 

 irregularity of erosion. The bare clay slopes under the 

 influence of occasional rains and the beating suns, generally 

 show a spongy surface, the loosening porous clay often ex- 

 tending to a depth of several inches. This feature is com- 



