Badlands National Park, South Dakota

© Grant Ordelheide/Tandem Stills + Motio

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA

This densely layered image is not an error of your screen, but the fascinating tiers of fossil beds in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Under the multicoloured coating lies the land's history, conserving the remains of ancient horses, camels, tigers and rhinos. The barren landscape, decorated with pinnacles and prairies, was mainly formed by two contrary forces of nature: deposition (the process of small rocks being moved around and deposited in new places) and erosion (the process of rocks wearing away). The Red Shirt Table, at 1,020 metres, is the highest point on the rugged terrain. The park covers a 981-square-kilometre territory that was established as a national park on this day in 1978. Still thirsty for knowledge? Visit the national park's museum collection. There are over 360,000 artefacts that have a lot more to reveal!