Containing the world’s richest Oligocene epoch
fossil beds, dating 37-28 million years old, the evolutionary
stories of mammals such as the horse and rhinoceros arise
from the 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles,
and spires. Bison, bighorn sheep, endangered black-footed
ferrets, and swift fox roam one of the largest, protected
mixed-grass prairies in the United States.
Devils Tower rises 1267 feet above the Belle Fourche
River. Once hidden, erosion has revealed Devils Tower.
This 1347 acre park is covered with pine forests, woodlands,
and grasslands. Deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife
are seen.
Also known as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site for many
American Indians.
President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower
the first national monument in 1906.
At 142 miles, Jewel Cave is the second longest cave in the
world. It is filled with calcite crystals and other wonders
that make up the "jewels" of Jewel Cave National
Monument.
The current length of Jewel Cave is:
142.06 miles.
On April 12, 2008 explorers spent 11.5 hours underground
and mapped 694.75 feet of cave passages.
Here you will find remnants of the Cold War,
including an underground launch control center and a missile
silo. Minuteman missiles held the destructive power to
destroy civilization as we know it. Yet the same destructive
force acted as a deterrent which kept the peace for three
decades. Minuteman Missile makes it possible to revisit
a time when the threat of nuclear war haunted the world.
Mount
Rushmore National Memorial
"A monument's dimensions should be determined by
the importance to civilization of the events commemorated.
We are not here trying to carve an epic, portray a moonlight
scene, or write a sonnet; neither are we dealing with
mystery or tragedy, but rather the constructive and dramatic
moments or crises in our amazing history." Gutzon
Borglum
One of the world's longest and most complex caves and
28,295 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest,
and associated wildlife are the main features of the park.
The cave is well known for its outstanding display of
boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite
fins resembling honeycombs. The park's mixed-grass prairie
is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife
such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, and
prairie dogs.
