Actually, I started to write a little post entitled "How the Badlands got their name," but after performing a quick search online, I realized that this was a fairly saturated subject. However, most people just say that the Sioux called them "mako sica," which literally means 'bad land' albeit that doesn't really explain a whole lot, so forget the Internet for now, as a short history lesson is about to begin.

Many folks leave out the fact that the Native Americans often found "good use" out of the Badlands. First of all, if you don't know, the Badlands are a type of dry, treacherous, rough terrain where some of the rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by water and wind. It is one hell of a landscape, to say the very least! Anyway, the Native Americans would often use a different method to kill bison, for example, instead of always relying on their primitive weaponry. They would stampede these wild animals over the sharp drops of the Badlands, at times, to kill the bison, etc. Is that freakin' efficient or what?

French fur traders of the time also agreed with the Sioux and called the region "mauvaises terres a traverser" (I hope that is spelled right) which means "bad lands to travel across." Of course, we are talking about specific areas, back then. There are now many places labelled as badlands, as any terrain that fits this description, gets the name. If you'd like more information about the various locations, go here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badlands

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons; source is already provided in the link above.

---End of Post "Are the Badlands really Bad?"