Badlands
Badlands (from English bad land - "bad land") are areas in arid areas cut up by deep, narrow erosion channels .
The earth's surface in Badlands is characterized by slightly weathered rocks and open soils . Shale , clay stones and loam in particular are quickly eroded by the action of water or wind , which leads to the creation of typical surface shapes. Important geomorphological forms in Badlands are canyons , gorges and hoodoos . A badlands area consists mainly of constantly widening gorges and valleys, between which sharp ridges remain. Some badlands also have a spectacular color scheme, e.g. B. alternates between black / blue coal streaks and yellow / reddish clay deposits.
properties
The term “badlands” is used in several languages, especially in North America: The Lakota referred to the topography “ Makhóšiča ”, literally for “bad land”, while French fur hunters called the badlands “ les mauvaises terres à traverser ” (i.e. “the difficult to cross Country"). The Spaniards called them malpaís , tierra baldía ("wasteland") and cárcava .
Badlands have steep slopes, loose, dry soils and deep sand, which makes it difficult to cross and other uses. Badlands are formed in arid regions with irregular but very heavy precipitation events, barren vegetation and loose sediments - these are all very good conditions for massive erosion and denudation .
Some of the most famous fossil finds come from badlands, as massive erosion exposes the sediment layers and the lack of vegetation cover makes fossil observation and finding relatively easy.
distribution
Well-known badlands are located in the United States, for example, in the Badlands National Park in South Dakota , in the Grand Staircase area in Utah and Arizona , or in Hell's Half Acre near Casper (Wyoming) . In Canada, badlands are common in the Canadian Badlands near Drumheller , Alberta . In Germany, for example, there are badlands at the foot of Gleichen Castle between Gotha and Erfurt and on the edge of the Bedhard ridge in the Eifel near Bitburg . In Croatia are in the center of the peninsula Istria northeast of the village Sterna extensive Badlands in the form of so-called marl - dunes formed. You are in "white Istria", as the Karst landscape of Istria is also called. In France, badlands are widespread in the Jura marls around the plateaus of the Causses and are also found in the red claystones around Lac du Salagou . Spain also has badlands, for example at Las Médulas in the province of León .
Badlands of Hell's Half Acre near Casper, Wyoming
Badlands near Drumheller in Canada
Small-scale badlands on the southern slope of Gleichen Castle in Thuringia
Badlands of Las Médulas , Spain
literature
- Frank Press , Raymond Siever : General Geology. Introduction to the earth system. 3. Edition. Spectrum, Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg et al. 2003, ISBN 3-8274-0307-3 .
- Andrew Goudie: Physical Geography. An introduction. 4th edition. Spectrum, Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg et al. 2002, ISBN 3-8274-1202-1 .
- Alan H. Strahler, Arthur N. Strahler: Physical Geography (= UTB. Geosciences 8159). 3rd, corrected edition. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8252-8159-0 .
