Depositional Stratigraphy of Badlands National Park South Dakota

Badlands National Park displays stratigraphic features originating from the Western Interior Seaway which covered the park during the Cretaceous Period. Following withdrawal of the seaway, Tertiary terrestrial deposits associated with river channels, floodplains, and lake deposits covered the park leaving sedimentary deposits covering Cretaceous sediments. The White River Group represents Tertiary stratigraphy in the park displayed as the light gray to lavender beds observed at the surface of the park's landscape.Chapter 1 presents the physiographic setting of the park introducing the regional geology, structure and landscape, ancient rocks, the Western Interior Seaway, the Tertiary "White River" world, and the Quaternary landscape.Chapter 2 discusses stratigraphy and geologic structures of the park's North Unit focusing on the Cretaceous stratigraphy.Chapter 3 focuses on the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary interval in the park discussing the Interior and Disturbed Zones.Chapter 4 discusses Tertiary geology of the park and the White River Group formations observed at the surface.Chapter 5 introduces the Quaternary landscape.Chapter 6 briefly introduces weathering, mass wasting, and erosion.