What is 'The West'?
Grant's October Response
The west is still the place west of the Mississippi, but my perception has changed. Now I view the west in two different ways, geographically and how the Native Americans were treated, and South Dakota contains great examples of both.
Geographically, South Dakota has diverse ecosystems from the prairie to the Black Hills a place with good mountains for climbing, and a mix between prairie and the pine forests. Sadly, the pine bark beetles are eating away at the pine forests destroying them, and making the forest susceptible to fires. The beetles are thriving, in part, due to not enough periods of cold weather.
On a good note, Wind Cave National Park is allowing native animals in this region to make a comeback such as the bison, elk, and the black footed-ferret (in Wind Cave they have the second largest population of this thought-to-be-extinct animal). Wind Cave is the cave in Wind Cave National Park, and it is an incredible cave that has over 144 miles of beautiful passageways. The cave is a unique place because it contains 95% of all of the worlds box work formation (box work is a unique formation that looks like abstract placements of cardboard boxes), and the reason is that it is a dry cave. Due to barometric pressure studies, scientists think that the 144 miles of cave they have found is just 10% of the overall size of the cave. Also the cave is called ‘wind cave’ because when a low pressure system comes in (like a storm) the cave has to equalize air pressure with the outside, so it “blows” out air, to get the pressure inside the cave the same as the outside of the cave. When it is a clear day (high pressure system) the cave takes in air to raise the cave’s inside air pressure.
The majority of the eastern part of ‘the west’ are miles and miles of farmland, most of which was plains when Louis and Clark were exploring. The first place we camped at was Council Bluffs, Iowa, and it was the place where Louis and Clark first met Native Americans.
In the western part of South Dakota is Badlands National Park, a place were farming and ranching is virtually impossible due to the existing rock formations. The rock was made from 65 to 35 million years ago when layers of dead animas gathered at the bottom of the ocean. Then the rock was compacted, and millions of years ago the compacted rock was exposed at the top of the earth. Now the rock is slowly eroding and it is a 60-mile long wall that is virtually impassible. Badlands National Park has become a magnificent national park which, like Wind Cave, allowed bison, coyotes, prairie dogs, black-footed, and many other animals to survive and have a place of shelter.
Geographically, the west incredibly beautiful, but sadly behind all of that beauty are many depressing stories. The Native Americans have been treated with barely an ounce of respect; they have been mistreated, murdered, and forced from their native homelands onto crowded reservations. A great example from South Dakota is the Black Hills. It is a sad story because the Native Americans were promised in the 1868 Laramie Treaty to live there to the end of time, but when gold was discovered the settlers and government went back on their agreement, kicked the Sioux off their land, and moved them to the Pine Ridge Reservation. On a good note their culture is being revitalized, people are treating them with respect, and the native’s are using the judicial system to regain some of their land.
From the Great Plains to the oceans, from the forests, where wolves are making a comeback, to the deserts of the southwest where majestic canyons were eroded away over the course of millions of years, the west is a place of natural, and physical beauty. Immersed with the physical beauty of South Dakota is the diverse culture of the Native Americans, which they are trying to revitalize after a tragic and difficult past.
Geographically, South Dakota has diverse ecosystems from the prairie to the Black Hills a place with good mountains for climbing, and a mix between prairie and the pine forests. Sadly, the pine bark beetles are eating away at the pine forests destroying them, and making the forest susceptible to fires. The beetles are thriving, in part, due to not enough periods of cold weather.
On a good note, Wind Cave National Park is allowing native animals in this region to make a comeback such as the bison, elk, and the black footed-ferret (in Wind Cave they have the second largest population of this thought-to-be-extinct animal). Wind Cave is the cave in Wind Cave National Park, and it is an incredible cave that has over 144 miles of beautiful passageways. The cave is a unique place because it contains 95% of all of the worlds box work formation (box work is a unique formation that looks like abstract placements of cardboard boxes), and the reason is that it is a dry cave. Due to barometric pressure studies, scientists think that the 144 miles of cave they have found is just 10% of the overall size of the cave. Also the cave is called ‘wind cave’ because when a low pressure system comes in (like a storm) the cave has to equalize air pressure with the outside, so it “blows” out air, to get the pressure inside the cave the same as the outside of the cave. When it is a clear day (high pressure system) the cave takes in air to raise the cave’s inside air pressure.
The majority of the eastern part of ‘the west’ are miles and miles of farmland, most of which was plains when Louis and Clark were exploring. The first place we camped at was Council Bluffs, Iowa, and it was the place where Louis and Clark first met Native Americans.
In the western part of South Dakota is Badlands National Park, a place were farming and ranching is virtually impossible due to the existing rock formations. The rock was made from 65 to 35 million years ago when layers of dead animas gathered at the bottom of the ocean. Then the rock was compacted, and millions of years ago the compacted rock was exposed at the top of the earth. Now the rock is slowly eroding and it is a 60-mile long wall that is virtually impassible. Badlands National Park has become a magnificent national park which, like Wind Cave, allowed bison, coyotes, prairie dogs, black-footed, and many other animals to survive and have a place of shelter.
Geographically, the west incredibly beautiful, but sadly behind all of that beauty are many depressing stories. The Native Americans have been treated with barely an ounce of respect; they have been mistreated, murdered, and forced from their native homelands onto crowded reservations. A great example from South Dakota is the Black Hills. It is a sad story because the Native Americans were promised in the 1868 Laramie Treaty to live there to the end of time, but when gold was discovered the settlers and government went back on their agreement, kicked the Sioux off their land, and moved them to the Pine Ridge Reservation. On a good note their culture is being revitalized, people are treating them with respect, and the native’s are using the judicial system to regain some of their land.
From the Great Plains to the oceans, from the forests, where wolves are making a comeback, to the deserts of the southwest where majestic canyons were eroded away over the course of millions of years, the west is a place of natural, and physical beauty. Immersed with the physical beauty of South Dakota is the diverse culture of the Native Americans, which they are trying to revitalize after a tragic and difficult past.