What kinds of fossils are the park famous for?

Ancient mammals like horses and rhinos

Badlands National Park Quiz: South Dakota Fossil Beds

This Badlands National Park quiz explores the striped buttes and spires of southwestern South Dakota. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the Lakota name mako sica, fast erosion, fossils of ancient horses and rhinos, the Fossil Exhibit Trail, a young visitor's saber-toothed cat find, 1978 national park status, black-footed ferrets, bison and bighorn sheep.

Start Badlands National Park Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

State
Which state is Badlands National Park in?
Name
What did the Lakota call the area?
Erosion
How fast do the Badlands erode?
Fossils
What kinds of fossils are the park famous for?
Trail
Which trail shows fossil replicas?
Find
What did a young visitor find in 2010?
Park
When did the Badlands become a national park?
Ferret
Which endangered mammal was reintroduced in 1994?
Sheep
Which climbing animal lives on the buttes?
Unit
Which park unit is managed with the Oglala Lakota?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which state is Badlands National Park in?
Answer: South Dakota
It lies east of the Black Hills.
Q2: What did the Lakota call the area?
Answer: Mako sica, meaning land bad
It was hard to cross.
Q3: How fast do the Badlands erode?
Answer: About an inch a year
The soft rock wears quickly.
Q4: What kinds of fossils are the park famous for?
Answer: Ancient mammals like horses and rhinos
They date to about 30 million years ago.
Q5: Which trail shows fossil replicas?
Answer: Fossil Exhibit Trail
It is an accessible boardwalk.
Q6: What did a young visitor find in 2010?
Answer: A saber-toothed cat skull
She reported it to rangers.
Q7: When did the Badlands become a national park?
Answer: 1978
It was a national monument from 1939.
Q8: Which endangered mammal was reintroduced in 1994?
Answer: Black-footed ferret
It hunts prairie dogs.
Q9: Which climbing animal lives on the buttes?
Answer: Bighorn sheep
Their curled horns are easy to spot.
Q10: Which park unit is managed with the Oglala Lakota?
Answer: Stronghold Unit
It lies on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Striped Buttes and Ancient Mammal Fossils

Badlands National Park in southwestern South Dakota is a maze of striped buttes, spires and canyons. The Lakota called the area mako sica, meaning land bad, because it was so hard to cross. Its soft rock erodes about an inch a year, constantly revealing new layers.

The park holds one of the world's richest fossil beds for ancient mammals from about 30 million years ago, including early horses, rhinos and saber-toothed cats. In 2010 a young visitor spotted a saber-toothed cat skull and reported it to rangers, and the Fossil Exhibit Trail displays replicas.

A national monument from 1939, the Badlands became a national park in 1978. Bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs live here, and endangered black-footed ferrets were reintroduced in 1994. The southern Stronghold Unit lies on the Pine Ridge Reservation and is managed with the Oglala Lakota.

What This Quiz Teaches

Nature fans will enjoy these questions.

What the name means
How fast the rocks erode
Which fossils are found
Which animals live there
Who manages the park

Did You Know?

Rangers work in an open fossil lab visitors can watch.
The park also protects mixed-grass prairie.
Wall Drug is a famous stop nearby.
Thunderstorms can turn trails slick and sticky.
Night skies in the park are very dark.