Yellow Mounds Overlook, Badlands N.P.
7 images 1 contributors Shoot with care
Sue Wolfe
Shoot with care
This is a national park--follow the rules. Climbing on the buttes can cause erosion. If you find a fossil leave it where it is, take a photo, and tell a Park Ranger what you have uncovered. Finally, keep a safe distance from wildlife—the Park recommends 100 feet.
About this spot
Badlands N.P. gets its name from the Lakota people who called the land “mako sica” which translates to “bad lands.” Is the name appropriate? Summers are hot and dry. Winters are cold and windy. There is little drinking water, and the terrain would be difficult to navigate if you were traveling on foot.
The Yellow Mounds Overlook is one of the most “colorful” in the Park and is found on the Badlands Loop Road (Hwy 240). You will find bands of yellow, purple, and red which stand out against the green grasslands. The mound area was once a shallow, inland sea and the yellow mounds get their color from the decaying plants found at its bottom. They have been described as giant scoops of rainbow sherbet.
The Badlands Loop Road is a 30-mile road that runs along the “Wall,” a 60-mile stretch of jagged rocks, that separate the upper and lower prairies.
The Yellow Mounds Overlook is one of the most “colorful” in the Park and is found on the Badlands Loop Road (Hwy 240). You will find bands of yellow, purple, and red which stand out against the green grasslands. The mound area was once a shallow, inland sea and the yellow mounds get their color from the decaying plants found at its bottom. They have been described as giant scoops of rainbow sherbet.
The Badlands Loop Road is a 30-mile road that runs along the “Wall,” a 60-mile stretch of jagged rocks, that separate the upper and lower prairies.
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