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Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and -rich have been extensively ."Badlands" in Chambers's Encyclopædia. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, minimal , lack of a substantial , and high .A.J. Parsons and A.D. Abrahams, Editors (2009) Geomorphology of Desert Environments (2nd ed.) Springer Science & Business Media , , , hoodoos and other such forms are common in badlands.

Badlands are found on every continent except Antarctica, being most common where there are unconsolidated . They are often difficult to navigate by foot, and are unsuitable for agriculture. Most are a result of natural processes, but destruction of vegetation by or can produce anthropogenic badlands.


Badlands topography
Badlands are characterized by a distinctive badlands topography.
(2025). 9780393924077, W.W. Norton.
(2025). 9780470387740, J. Wiley.
This is terrain in which water has cut a very large number of deep drainage channels, separated by short, steep ridges ( ).
(1997). 9780922152346, American Geological Institute.
Such a drainage system is said to have a very fine drainage texture,
(1969). 9780471861973, Wiley.
as measured by its . Drainage density is defined as the total length of drainage channels per unit area of land surface. Badlands have a very high drainage density of . The numerous deep drainage channels and high creates a stark landscape of , , and .

In addition to a dense system of drainages and interfluves, badlands often contain and hoodoos. These are formed by resistant beds of sandstone, which form the of the buttes and hoodoos.


Origin
Badlands arise from a combination of an impermeable but easily eroded ground surface, sparse , and infrequent but heavy rainfall. The surface is typically , sometimes with , with only occasional beds of more resistant . Infrequent heavy rains lead to heavy erosional dissection. Where sudden precipitation cannot penetrate impermeable clays, it 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 clay further increases , as can rejuvenation of the drainage system from regional , as occurred at Badlands National Park.

In addition to surface erosion, badlands sometimes have well-developed piping, which is a system of pipes, joints, , 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 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.

(2025). 9780470519097, Wiley-Blackwell.
However, it has been estimated that the badlands of Badlands National Park erode at the relatively high rate of about per year. The White River draining Badlands National Park was so named for its heavy load of bentonite clay eroded from the badlands.


Regolith
Badlands are partially characterized by their thin to nonexistent layers. The regolith profiles of badlands in arid climates are likely to resemble one another. In these regions, the upper layer (~) is typically composed of , , and (a byproduct of the 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 (~), below which can be found a transitional shard layer (~), formed largely of loose disaggregated shale chips, which in turn eventually gives way to a layer of unweathered shale. Badlands such as those found in the , the , 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 . Others have a regolith with a clay veneer, and still others have a biological crust of or .

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.Bryan, R. and A. Yair, 1982a. Perspectives on studies of badland geomorphology. In Badland geomorphology and piping. R. Bryan and A. Yair (eds), 1-3. Norwich: Geo Books.


Anthropogenic badlands
Although most badland topography is natural, badlands have been produced artificially by destruction of vegetation cover, through , , or acid mine drainage. The Cheltenham Badlands in Caledon, Ontario are an example of badlands produced by . In the early 1900s, the area was used for agricultural purposes, predominantly cattle . 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 is the gold mine of Las Médulas in northern Spain.


Etymology
The word badlands is a from the 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 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 , but refers to a terrain of that is unlike the eroded badlands of the White River.

(1997). 9780922152346, American Geological Institute.


Human impact
Badlands are generally unsuitable for agriculture, but attempts have been made to remediate badlands. For example, is being attempted in the badlands of Eastern India. and reforestation have been studied in the black badlands of the French . can become established and then be gradually replaced by native species. However, the time scale for this process is many decades.


Locations
Badlands are found on all the except . The presence of unconsolidated sediments is a strong control on their locations.


Argentina
The Valle de la Luna ("Valley of the Moon") is one of many examples of badland formations in midwestern .


Canada
The Cheltenham Badlands are in Caledon, Ontario, not far from Canada's largest city .

The Big Muddy Badlands in gained notoriety as a hideout for .

There is a large badland area in , particularly in the valley of the Red Deer River, where Dinosaur Provincial Park is located, as well as in , where the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is located.

(2025). 9780253345950, Indiana University Press.


China
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 a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2019.


India
, Eastern India is a badlands located in a monsoon climate. Chambal spread across northern parts of , southeastern and southern parts of known for its lawlessness and is another example of badlands. A small strip of badlands is also found in western and .


Italy
In , badlands are called "calanchi". Some examples are (), () and Civita di Bagnoregio ().


New Zealand
A well-known badlands formation in – the Pūtangirua Pinnacles, formed by the erosion of the conglomerate of an old – is located at the head of a small valley near the southern tip of the .Lloyd Homer and Phil Moore, Reading the Rocks: Aguide to the Geological Features of the Wairarapa Coast, Landscape Publications limited, 1989


Spain
The near Tudela, Navarre, the in Tabernas, Almería, parts of the Granada Altiplano near and possibly in are examples of badlands.


Turkey
Turkey has extensive badlands, including Göreme National Park.


United States
In the U.S., Makoshika State Park in and Badlands National Park in 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 named after former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. Petrified Forest National Park in which is part of encompasses numerous badlands that also abuts the Indian Reservation and is directly north of Joseph City, Arizona. Many are believed to be buried in the immediate area and exploration has been ongoing since the early 20th century.
(2025). 9780945695110, Petrified Forest Museum Association.

Among the area in Utah, about above sea level, - and -aged shales are exposed. Another popular area of badland formations is Toadstool Geologic Park in the Oglala National Grassland located in northwestern . 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 , . Additional badlands also exist in various places throughout southwest Wyoming, such as near Pinedale and in the Bridger Valley near the towns of Lyman and Mountain View, near the high . Pinnacles National Park in California also has areas of badlands, as does the in eastern California.


Culture and media
Badlands have become a popular trope inside various media, particularly .


Image gallery
Image:Badlands00503.JPG| Badlands National Park, Image:HellsHalfAcre.JPG|Hell's Half-Acre, Image:Panorámica de Las Médulas.jpg|Las Médulas, Image:Badlands at the Blue Gate, Utah.JPG|Badlands below North Caineville Plateau by the Fremont River, Image:Vigdísarvallavegur, Iceland - panoramio.jpg|Vigdísarvallavegur in Southern Peninsula,


See also


External links

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