The Badlands
The stillness of the land is a disguise. Hard infrequent rain attack the loosely cemented clays and sandstones, gouging new gullies and carrying off as much as two to four inches of surface a year from steep, unprotected slopes.
At night the buttes and outcroppings take on eerie shapes. A dawning sun pours back the shifting colors.
In the future this jagged land will be smooth and rounded. The river, cutting through soft rock Ð the burning lignite Ð the sudden downpours Ð become part of one vast shaping motion. -National Park Service