geography
8 articles on geography.
-
From Harney Peak to Black Elk Peak
The highest point in the Black Hills of South Dakota was renamed Black Elk Peak in 2016, honoring the Oglala holy man over a controversial general.
-
Rapid Creek: The Stream That Made the City
Rapid Creek drew the first settlers to the future Rapid City, South Dakota, watered the Black Hills hub, and in 1972 turned against the town it had created.
-
Canyon Lake and the Dam That Failed in 1972
Canyon Lake was a beloved Rapid City, South Dakota recreation spot until its dam failed during the 1972 Black Hills flood. The story of the reservoir and its rebuilding.
-
Pactola Dam and Reservoir
Pactola Reservoir, the largest in the Black Hills, drowned an old gold camp to secure water for Rapid City. The story of the dam west of town.
-
Spearfish Canyon and the Northern Black Hills
Spearfish Canyon in the northern Black Hills, north of Rapid City, cuts deep through limestone past waterfalls and forest. A look at its geology, history, and roads.
-
Bear Butte: Mato Paho, a Sacred Mountain
Bear Butte, called Mato Paho by the Lakota, rises near Sturgis north of Rapid City and remains a sacred site for many Plains tribes to this day.
-
The Badlands East of Rapid City
The Badlands east of Rapid City, South Dakota, are a maze of eroded buttes and fossil beds where the prairie breaks into bare rock at the edge of the plains.
-
Buffalo Gap and the Gateway to the Hills
A natural break in the hogback ridge, Buffalo Gap funneled bison and then people into the Black Hills near Rapid City. A look at a quiet landmark.