Hike Coal Vein Nature Trail, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

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Beautiful layers of rock tell a story of the 60-million-year geologic history of the badlands. From ancient swamps to recent coal fires, this landscape is constantly changing. Learn about badlands geology by following the numbered trail posts. In this area there was a 12-foot-thick were left unsupported and the surface coal vein deep underground. In 1951 collapsed, forming the depression you it caught fire and burned for 26 years. are about to enter. Before the fire, the as it burned away, the rocks above land were level with the top of the stairs. Notice the sediment on either side of the trail. Fifty-five million years ago, volcanoes in the Rockies spewed out ash that blew east. At that time, this area was a vast, tropical swamp. The ash settled in wet areas and became bentonite clay. Bentonite looks like popcorn when dry (below), but becomes sticky, slick mud when wet. It can absorb up to five times its weight in water. Known as the mineral of one thousand uses, it is used to seal landfills and ponds, to make cat litter, and much more. Rocks in the badlands are generally soft and easily eroded by rain and streams. Some are harder than others and become caprocks. A caprock acts like a helmet, shielding softer rock underneath. When the rocks underneath finally erode away, large pieces of caprock break of and fall. The large pieces of sandstone behind you were once caprocks at the top of the hill.

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