Black Hills

Mountain range in South Dakota and Wyoming, United States

This article is about the region in South Dakota. For other places, see Black Hills (disambiguation).

Black Hills

The Needles, Black Hills

Highest point
Peak| Black Elk Peak
Elevation| 7,244 ft (2,208 m) NAVD 88[1][2]
Listing| Isolated summits of the United States
Coordinates| 43°51′57″N 103°31′57″W﻿ / ﻿43.865847725°N 103.532431997°W﻿ / 43.865847725; -103.532431997[1]
Dimensions
Area| 5,000 sq mi (13,000 km2)
Naming
Native name|

* Ȟe Sápa (Lakota)
* Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva (Cheyenne)
* awaxaawi shiibisha (Hidatsa)

Geography

Black Hills

Country| United States
State| South Dakota and Wyoming
Geology
Orogenies| Trans-Hudson and Laramide
Rock age(s)| Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic and Tertiary
Rock type(s)| Shale, sandstone, limestone, slate, quartzite and granite

Southwestern South Dakota
Sculptures

* Mount Rushmore (National memorial)
* Crazy Horse

Geologic and natural history

* Badlands (National park)
* The Mammoth Site
* Needles
* Spearfish Canyon

Mountains

* Black Hills
* Bear Butte (National Historic Landmark)
* Black Elk Peak

Caves

* Wind Cave (National park)
* Jewel Cave (National monument)

Forests and wildernesses

* Custer (State Park)
* Black Hills (National Forest)
* Black Elk (Wilderness)
* Buffalo Gap (National Grassland)

Lakes

* Sylvan
* Pactola

Long-distance trails

* Centennial Trail
* George S. Mickelson Trail

Scenic byways

* Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway
* Spearfish Canyon

Historic sites

* Minuteman Missile (National Historic Site)

* v
* t
* e

The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States.[3] Black Elk Peak, which rises to 7,242 feet (2,207 m), is the range's highest summit.[4] The name of the range in Lakota is Pahá Sápa.[5] It encompasses the Black Hills National Forest. It formed as a result of an upwarping of ancient rock, after which the removal of the higher portions of the mountain mass by stream erosion produced the present-day topography. The hills are so called because of their dark appearance from a distance, as they are covered in evergreen trees.[6][7][8]

American Indian tribes have a long history in the Black Hills and consider it a sacred site.[9] After conquering the Cheyenne in 1776, the Lakota took the territory of the Black Hills, which became central to their culture. In 1868, the federal US government signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, establishing the Great Sioux Reservation west of the Missouri River, and exempting the Black Hills from all non-indigenous settlement “forever”; however, when American settlers discovered gold here as a result of George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills Expedition in 1874, a gold rush swept in miners. The US government conquered the Black Hills and forcibly relocated the Lakota, following the Great Sioux War of 1876, to five smaller reservations in western South Dakota, selling off 9 million acres (36,000 km2) of their former land. Unlike most of South Dakota, the Black Hills were settled primarily by European Americans from population centers to the west and south of the region, as miners flocked there from earlier gold boom locations in Colorado and Montana.[10]

As the economy of the Black Hills has shifted away from natural resources (mining and timber) since the late 20th century, the hospitality and tourism industries have grown to take its place. Locals tend to divide the Black Hills into two areas: "The Southern Hills" and "The Northern Hills." The Southern Hills is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Black Elk Peak (the highest point in the United States east of the Rockies), Custer State Park (the largest state park in South Dakota), the Crazy Horse Memorial, and The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, the world's largest mammoth research facility.

Attractions in the Northern Hills include Spearfish Canyon, historic Deadwood, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held each August. The first Rally was held on August 14, 1938, and the 75th Rally in 2015 saw more than one million bikers visit the Black Hills. Devils Tower National Monument, located in the Wyoming Black Hills, is an important nearby attraction and was the United States' first national monument.[11]

## History

[edit]

### Early history

[edit]

Although the written history of the region begins with the Sioux domination of the land over the native Arikara tribes, researchers have carbon-dating and stratigraphic records to analyze the early history of the area. Scientists have been able to utilize carbon-dating to evaluate the age of tools found in the area, which indicate a human presence that dates as far back as 11,500 BC with the Clovis culture. Stratigraphic records indicate environmental changes in the land, such as flood and drought patterns. For example, large-scale flooding of the Black Hill basins occurs at a probability rate of 0.01, making such floods occur on average once in every 100 years. During The Medieval Climate Anomaly, or the Medieval Warm Period, flooding increased in the basins. A stratigraphic record of the area shows that during these 400 years, thirteen 100-year floods occurred in four of the region's basins, while the same four basins from the previous 800 years only experienced nine floods.

### Indigenous history

[edit]

2006 Space Shuttle image of the Black Hills

The Arikara arrived by AD 1500, followed by the Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, and Arapaho. The Lakota (also known as Sioux) arrived from Minnesota in the 18th century and displaced the other tribes that lived there, who eventually moved to what became known as the Western United States.[12][13] They claimed the land, which they called Ȟe Sápa (Black Mountains).[14] The mountains commonly became known as the Black Hills (Pahá Sápa in Lakota).[14]

### Colonization and exploration

[edit]

Gold miners in the Black Hills Abandoned cabin near Dewey in the southern Black Hills

François and Louis de La Vérendrye probably traveled near the Black Hills in 1743.[15] Fur trappers and traders also had some dealings with the American Indians that lived there.

Americans settlers increasingly encroached on Lakota territory. In order to secure safe passage of settlers on the Oregon Trail, and to end intertribal warfare, the United States government proposed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which established the Great Sioux Reservation west of the Missouri River and acknowledged indigenous control of the Black Hills. The treaty protected the Black Hills "forever" from American settlers. Both the Sioux and Cheyenne also claimed rights to the land, saying that their cultures considered it the axis mundi, or sacred center of the world.

Although rumors of gold in the Black Hills had circulated for decades (see Thoen Stone and Pierre-Jean De Smet), confirmation of the deposits came first in 1874, when Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer of the 7th US Cavalry led an expedition there and discovered gold in French Creek. An official announcement of gold was made by the newspaper reporters accompanying the expedition. The following year, the Newton-Jenney Party conducted the first detailed survey of the Black Hills. The surveyor for the party, Valentine McGillycuddy, became the first European American to ascend to the top of Black Elk Peak. This highest point in the Black Hills is 7,242 feet (2,207 m) above sea level.

During the 1875–1878 gold rush thousands of miners went to the Black Hills; in 1880, the area was the most densely populated part of the Dakota Territory. Three large towns developed in the Northern Hills: Deadwood, Central City, and Lead. Around these clustered groups of smaller gold camps, towns, and villages. Hill City and Custer City sprang up in the Southern Hills. Railroads were quickly constructed to the previously remote area. From 1880 onward the gold mines yielded about $4,000,000 annually, and the silver mines about $3,000,000 annually.

### American seizure

[edit]

Main article: Seizure of the Black Hills

Inyan Kara is a sacred mountain to the Lakota people

The conflict over control of the region sparked the Black Hills War (1876), also known as the Great Sioux War, the last major Indian War on the Great Plains. Following the defeat of the Lakota and their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies in 1876, the United States occupied the Black Hills in disregard of past treaties. Despite their forced relocations, the Lakota never accepted the validity of the US appropriation. They have continued to try to reclaim the property,[16] and had also filed a lawsuit against the U.S. federal government.

### 20th century

[edit]

On July 23, 1980, in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Black Hills were illegally seized by the federal U.S. government and ordered remuneration of the initial offering price plus interest, nearly $106 million. The Lakota refused the settlement, as they wanted the Black Hills returned to them. The money remains in a Bureau of Indian Affairs account accruing compound interest, but the Lakota still refuse to take the money, as acceptance would also legally terminate their demands for return of the Black Hills. As of 2011, the Sioux's award plus interest was "about $1 billion" or "1.3 billion" (equivalent to $1.35 to $1.76 billion in 2023).[17][18][19]

### 21st century

[edit]

In 2012, United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya conducted a 12-day tour of Indigenous lands to determine how the US is following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, endorsed in 2010 by the Obama administration. Anaya met with tribes in seven states on reservations and in urban areas as well as with members of the Obama administration and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. In an appeal issued August 21, 2012, Anaya brought a sale of over 1,900 acres (7.7 km2) of land in Black Hills by the Reynolds family to the attention of the US government and asked that it disclose measures taken by federal or state governments to address Sioux concerns over the sale of the land within Reynolds Prairie. These acres consist of five land tracts, including the sacred Pe' Sla site for Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota peoples; natives to the Black Hills fundraised to buy the land during the Reynolds' sale.[20]

On January 15, 2013, the US responded, telling Anaya that it "understands several tribes purchased the Pe' Sla sacred site around November 30, 2012" meaning the Pe' Sla is officially Sioux land.[21] After 2,022 acres (8.18 km2) of Pe' Sla (Reynolds Prairie) were granted Federal Indian trust status by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in March 2016, the Shakopee Mdewakanton tribe released a statement acknowledging the 2012 land purchase of 1,940 acres (7.9 km2) of Pe' Sla and also stated that this purchase was the result of a joint effort by the Rosebud, Shakopee Mdewakanton, Crow Creek, and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes.[22] In March 2017, Pennington County agreed to abandon its claim to the Pe' Sla area and recognize its Federal Indian trust status.[23] In 2016, the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota bought land near the sacred Bear Butte site for $1.1 million.[24] In 2018, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and the Arapahoe Tribe of Oklahoma teamed together to purchase land near Bear Butte for $2.3 million.[25]

## Geology

[edit]

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|

Gold-quartz placer nugget, found near Lead; about 1 cm wide

The geology of the Black Hills is complex. A Tertiary mountain-building episode is responsible for the uplift and current topography of the Black Hills region. This uplift was marked by volcanic activity in the northern Black Hills. The southern Black Hills are characterized by Precambrian granite, pegmatite, and metamorphic rocks that comprise the core of the entire Black Hills uplift. This core is rimmed by Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks. The stratigraphy of the Black Hills is laid out like a target, as it is an oval dome, with rings of different rock types dipping away from the center.

### Precambrian

[edit]

The granite core of the Black Hills rises 7,244 feet (2,208 m) at Black Elk Peak

The 'bull's eye' of this target is called the granite core. The granite of the Black Hills was emplaced by magma generated during the Trans-Hudson orogeny and contains abundant pegmatite. The core of the Black Hills has been dated to 1.8 billion years. Other localized deposits have been dated to around 2.2 to 2.8 billion years. One of these is located in the northern hills. It is called French Creek Granite although it has been metamorphosed into gneiss. The other is called the Bear Mountain complex, and it is located in the west-central part of the hills.

The angular unconformity between the Deadwood Formation and the underlying Precambrian rocks near Rapid City.

Making a concentric ring around the core is the metamorphic zone. The rocks in this ring are all very old, as much as 2 billion years and older. This zone is very complex, filled with many diverse rock types. The rocks were originally sedimentary until there was a collision between the North American continent and a terrane. This collision, called the Trans-Hudson Orogeny, caused the original rocks to fold and twist into a vast mountain range. Over millions of years, these tilted rocks, which in many areas are tilted to 90 degrees or more, eroded. Today we see the evidence of this erosion in the Black Hills, where the metamorphic rocks end in an angular unconformity below the younger sedimentary layers.

### Paleozoic

[edit]

The final layers of the Black Hills consist of sedimentary rocks. The oldest lie on top of the metamorphic layers at a much shallower angle. This rock called the Deadwood Formation is mostly sandstone and was the source of gold found in the Deadwood area. Above the Deadwood Formation lies the Englewood Formation and Pahasapa limestone, which is the source of the more than 200 caves found in the Black Hills, including Jewel Cave and Wind Cave. The Minnelusa Formation is next and is composed of highly variable sandstones and limestones followed by the Opeche shale and the Minnekahta limestone.

### Mesozoic

[edit]

The next rock layer, the Spearfish Formation, forms a valley around the hills called the Red Valley and is often referred to as the Race Track.[26][27] It is mostly red shale with beds of gypsum, and circles much of the Black Hills. These shale and gypsum beds, as well as the nearby limestone beds of the Minnekahta, are used in the manufacture of cement at a cement plant in Rapid City. Next is the shale and sandstone Sundance Formation, which is topped by the Morrison Formation and the Unkpapa sandstone.

The outermost feature of the dome stands out as a hogback ridge. The ridge is made out of the Lakota Formation and the Fallriver sandstone, which are collectively called the Inyan Kara Group. Above this, the layers of rocks are less distinct and are all mainly grey shale with three exceptions: the Newcastle sandstone; the Greenhorn limestone, which contains many shark teeth fossils; and the Niobrara Formation, which is composed mainly of chalk. These outer ridges are called cuestas.

### Cenozoic

[edit]

Fallingrock cliff in Dark Canyon. The rock is of Paleozoic age but is capped with a Cenozoic gravel terrace.

The preceding layers were deposited horizontally. All of them can be seen in core samples and well logs from the flattest parts of the Great Plains. It took a period of uplift to bring them to their present topographical levels in the Black Hills. This uplift called the Laramide orogeny, began around the beginning of the Cenozoic and left a line of igneous rocks through the northern hills superimposed on the rocks already discussed. This line extends from Bear Butte in the east to Devils Tower in the west. Evidence of Cenozoic volcanic eruptions, if this happened, has long since been eroded.

The Black Hills also has a 'skirt' of gravel covering them in areas, which are called pediments. Formed as the waterways cut down into the uplifting hills, they represent the former locations of today's rivers. These beds are generally around 10,000 years old or younger, judging by the artifacts and fossils found. A few places, mainly in the high elevations, are older, as old as 20 million years, according to camel and rodent fossils found. Some gravels have been found but for the most part, these older beds have been eroded.[citation needed]

## Biosystems

[edit]

Sylvan Lake, located in Custer State Park

As with the geology, the biology of the Black Hills is complex. Most of the Hills are a fire-climax ponderosa pine forest, with Black Hills spruce (Picea glauca var. densata) occurring in cool moist valleys of the Northern Hills. Oddly, this endemic variety of spruce does not occur in the moist Bear Lodge Mountains, which make up most of the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. Large open parks (mountain meadows) with lush grassland rather than forest are scattered through the Hills (especially the western portion), and the southern edge of the Hills, due to the rainshadow of the higher elevations, are covered by a dry pine savannah, with stands of mountain mahogany and Rocky Mountain juniper.

Wildlife is both diverse and plentiful. Black Hills creeks are known for their trout, while the forests and grasslands offer good habitat for American bison, white-tailed and mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and a variety of smaller animals, like prairie dogs, American martens, American red squirrels, Northern flying squirrels, yellow-bellied marmots, and fox squirrels. Biologically, the Black Hills is a meeting and mixing place, with species common to regions to the east, west, north, and south. It supports some endemic taxa, including white-winged junco (Junco hyemalis aikeni). Some other endemics are Cooper's Rocky Mountain snail, Black Hills subspecies of red-bellied snake, and a Black Hills subspecies of southern red-backed vole. Some birds that are only in the Black Hills and not the rest of South Dakota are pinyon jay, Canada jay, three-toed woodpecker, black-backed woodpecker, American dipper, ruffed grouse, and others.

## Regions of the Black Hills

[edit]

Black Hills National Forest Districts Map

The northern Black Hills approximate Lawrence and Meade Counties and are roughly equivalent to the Northern Hills District of the Black Hills National Forest. The central Black Hills (the Mystic District of the Black Hills National Forest) are located in Pennington County west of Rapid City. The southern Black Hills are in Custer and Fall River Counties and are administered in the national forest's Hell Canyon District. Finally, Wyoming's Black Hills follow the Bearlodge District, approximately Weston and Crook Counties.

Geologically separate from the Black Hills are the Elk Mountains, a small range forming the southwest portion of the region.

## Tourism and economy

[edit]

Black Hills opposite Mount Rushmore Homestake Mine in 1889

The region is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Black Elk Peak, Custer State Park (the largest state park in South Dakota, and one of the largest in the US), Bear Butte State Park, Devils Tower National Monument, and the Crazy Horse Memorial. The Black Hills also hosts the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally each August. The rally was started in 1940 and the 65th Rally in 2005 saw more than 550,000 bikers visit the Black Hills. It is a key part of the regional economy.[28]

The South Dakota Centennial Trail is a hiking and mountain biking trail which opened in 1989 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of South Dakota becoming a state. It traverses 123 miles through Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, the Black Hills National Forest, Fort Meade Recreation Area, and Bear Butte State Park.

The George S. Mickelson Trail is a recently opened multi-use path through the Black Hills that follows the abandoned track of the historic railroad route from Edgemont to Deadwood. The train used to be the only way to bring supplies to the miners in the Hills. The trail is about 110 miles (180 km) in length, and can be used by hikers, cross-country skiers, and cyclists. The cost is $4 per day or $15 annually.

Today, the major city in the Black Hills is Rapid City, with an incorporated population of roughly 75,000 and a metropolitan population of 145,000. It serves a market area covering much of five states: North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. In addition to tourism and mining (including coal, specialty minerals, and the now declining gold mining), the Black Hills economy includes ranching (sheep and cattle, primarily, with bison and ratites becoming more common), timber (lumber), Ellsworth Air Force Base, and some manufacturing, including Black Hills gold jewelry, cement, electronics, cabinetry, guns and ammunition.

In many ways, the Black Hills functions as a very spread-out urban area with a population (not counting tourists) of 250,000. Other important Black Hills cities and towns include:

* Belle Fourche, a ranching town
* Custer, a mining and tourism town and headquarters for Black Hills National Forest
* Deadwood, a historic and well-preserved gambling mecca
* Hill City, a timber and tourism town in the center of the Hills, where the Black Hills Central Railroad operates historic steam trains over the former CB&Q line to Keystone
* Hot Springs, an old resort town in the southern Hills
* Keystone, a tourism town just outside Mount Rushmore
* Lead, home of the now-closed Homestake Mine (gold) and the Sanford Underground Research Facility
* Newcastle, center of the Black Hills petroleum production and refining
* Spearfish, home of Black Hills State University
* Sturgis, originally a military town (Fort Meade, now a VA center, is located just to the east).

## See also

[edit]

* Cypress Hills (Canada), a similar landform
* The Black Hills of Dakota (song)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Harney". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
2. ^ "Topographic map of Black Elk Peak". opentopomap.org. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
3. ^ "Black Hills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
4. ^ "Black Elk". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
5. ^ Clavin, Tom; Drury, Bob (2013). The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend. Simon & Schuster. p. 4\. ISBN 9781451654684. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
6. ^ "Black Hills National Forest — Frequently Asked Questions". United States Forest Service.
7. ^ "Black Hills | South Dakota, Wyoming, Map, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. April 29, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
8. ^ "Geography and Geology of the Black Hills". Moon Travel Guides. April 20, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
9. ^ "Black Hills – Stories of the Sacred". Colorado College. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
10. ^ "Black Hills – Stories of the Sacred". Indigenous Religious Traditions. November 18, 2012. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
11. ^ Mattison, Ray H. (1955). "The First Fifty Years". National Park Service. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
12. ^ "The Buffalo War". Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
13. ^ World Archaeology, Oct., 1996, Vol. 28, No. 2, Sacred Geography (Oct., 1996), pp. 177-189
14. ^ a b Dowling, Sarah (2019). "Property, Priority, Place: Rethinking the Poetics of Appropriation". Contemporary Literature. 60 (1): 98–125\. doi:10.3368/cl.60.1.98.
15. ^ "History of the Black Hills". U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original on May 17, 2010.
16. ^ Eyanopopi: The Heart of the Sioux. Irwindale, California: Centre Communications. 1988. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
17. ^ "Black Hills Are Beyond Price to Sioux". November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
18. ^ Streshinsky, Maria (February 9, 2011). "Saying No to $1 Billion". The Atlantic. ISSN 2151-9463. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
19. ^ "Why the Sioux Are Refusing $1.3 Billion". PBS NewsHour. August 24, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
20. ^ Anaya, James (August 21, 2012). "Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples" (PDF). United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2018.
21. ^ Rice, Susan (January 15, 2013). "OHCHR Registry No. 01-13" (PDF). United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
22. ^ "Sacred Site Pe' Sla Gains Indian Land Status". Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. March 14, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
23. ^ Huntington, Stewart (March 24, 2017). "Tribes win federal trust status for Pe Sla property in Black Hills". KOTA TV. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
24. ^ Griffith, Tom (November 1, 2016). "Tribes buy Bear Butte land for $1.1M". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
25. ^ Holland, Jim (November 22, 2018). "1,020 acres near Bear Butte sells to tribes for $2.3 million". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
26. ^ "Red Valley". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
27. ^ "Black Hills National Forest — Environment". Gorp.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
28. ^ "2017 Sturgis Rally economic impact reportedly $738 million". KEVN TV. Gray Digital Media. October 12, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018.

Bibliography

* Zieske, Scott (Spring 1985). "Fly Fishing in the Black Hills ca 1910" (PDF). The American Fly Fisher. 12 (2). Manchester, VT: American Museum of Fly Fishing: 22–25\. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Black Hills.

* "Black Hills" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). 1911.
* Black Hills National Forest
* Black Hills article on the Sacred Lands Film Project website

* v
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Mountains of South Dakota

Black Hills|

* Bear Butte
* Bear Mountain
* Black Elk Peak
* Cicero Peak
* Elk Mountains
* Iron Mountain
* Odakota Mountain
* Mount Rushmore
* Terry Peak

Others|

* Black Horse Butte
* Castle Rock Butte
* Deers Ears Butte
* Dogie Butte
* Eagle Butte
* Granite Peak
* Grindstone Butte
* Hump Butte
* Polo Peak
* Turtle Butte
* White Butte

* v
* t
* e

Mountains of Wyoming

Absaroka Range|

* Abiathar Peak
* Atkins Peak
* Barronette Peak
* Breccia Peak
* Clayton Mountain
* Colter Peak
* Druid Peak
* Eagle Peak
* Fortress Mountain
* Francs Peak
* Index Peak
* Mount Chittenden
* First Peoples Mountain
* Mount Hornaday
* Mount Langford
* Mount Norris
* Mount Schurz
* Mount Stevenson
* Pilot Peak
* Sheep Mesa
* The Thunderer
* Washakie Needles
* Younts Peak

Bighorn Mountains|

* Bighorn Peak
* Black Tooth Mountain
* Bomber Mountain
* Cloud Peak
* Darton Peak
* Hallelujah Peak
* The Innominate
* Mather Peaks
* Mount Woolsey
* Penrose Peak

Black Hills|

| Bear Lodge Mountains|

* Inyan Kara Mountain

|

Others|

* Missouri Buttes

Gallatin Range|

* Antler Peak
* Bannock Peak
* Bunsen Peak
* Clagett Butte
* Dome Mountain (Park County)
* Echo Peak
* Gray Peak
* Joseph Peak
* Mount Everts
* Mount Haynes
* Mount Holmes
* Mount Jackson
* Purple Mountain
* Quadrant Mountain
* Sepulcher Mountain
* Terrace Mountain
* Three Rivers Peak
* Trilobite Point
* White Peaks

Gros Ventre Range|

* Darwin Peak
* Doubletop Peak
* Sheep Mountain

Laramie Mountains|

* Casper Mountain
* Laramie Peak
* Muddy Mountain

Medicine Bow Mountains|

* Elk Mountain (Carbon County)
* Medicine Bow Peak

Salt River Range|

* Mount Fitzpatrick

Teton Range|

* Albright Peak
* Battleship Mountain
* Bivouac Peak
* Buck Mountain
* Cathedral Group
* Cleaver Peak
* Cloudveil Dome
* Disappointment Peak
* Doane Peak
* Dry Ridge Mountain
* Eagles Rest Peak
* Elk Mountain (Teton County)
* Forellen Peak
* Fossil Mountain
* Grand Teton
* Green Lakes Mountain
* Housetop Mountain
* The Jaw
* Littles Peak
* Maidenform Peak
* Middle Teton
* Moose Mountain
* Mount Bannon
* Mount Glory
* Mount Hunt
* Mount Jedediah Smith
* Mount Meek
* Mount Moran
* Mount Owen
* Mount Saint John
* Mount Wister
* Mount Woodring
* Mount Woodrow Wilson
* Nez Perce Peak
* Owl Peak
* Prospectors Mountain
* Rammell Mountain
* Ranger Peak
* Raynolds Peak
* Red Mountain
* Rendezvous Mountain
* Rendezvous Peak
* Rock of Ages
* Rockchuck Peak
* Rolling Thunder Mountain
* Shadow Peak
* South Teton
* Spearhead Peak
* Static Peak
* Survey Peak
* Symmetry Spire
* Table Mountain
* Teepe Pillar
* Teewinot Mountain
* Temple Peak
* Thor Peak
* Traverse Peak
* Veiled Peak
* The Wall
* Window Peak

Uinta Mountains|

* Humpy Peak
* Medicine Butte

Wind River Range|

* American Legion Peak
* Atlantic Peak
* Bair Peak
* Bastion Peak
* Bastion Peak-Northeast Peak
* Bears Ears Mountain
* Big Sandy Mountain
* Block Tower
* Bow Mountain
* Brown Cliffs North
* Cathedral Peak
* Desolation Peak
* Dog Tooth Peak
* Dome Mountain (Hot Springs County)
* Doublet Peak
* Downs Mountain
* East Temple Peak
* Flagstone Peak (Fremont County)
* Fremont Peak
* Gannett Peak
* Harrower Peak
* Henderson Peak
* Jackson Peak
* Klondike Peak
* Knife Point Mountain
* Lander Peak
* Lizard Head Peak
* Mitchell Peak
* Mount Bonneville
* Mount Chauvenet
* Mount Febbas
* Mount Helen
* Mount Hooker
* Mount Koven
* Mount Lander
* Mount Nystrom
* Mount Owen
* Mount Sacagawea
* Mount Warren
* Mount Washakie
* Mount Whitecap
* Overhanging Tower
* Payson Peak
* Pingora Peak
* Pylon Peak
* Raid Peak
* Rampart Peak
* Roaring Fork Mountain
* Roberts Mountain
* Shale Mountain
* Sharks Nose
* South Downs Mountain
* The Sphinx
* Split Mountain
* Sunbeam Peak
* Three Waters Mountain
* Torrey Peak
* Turret Peak
* Twin Peaks
* Union Peak
* Valentine Mountain
* Valentine Peak
* War Bonnet Peak
* Warrior Peaks
* Watch Tower
* Whiskey Mountain
* Wind River Peak
* Wolfs Head

Wyoming Range|

* Wyoming Peak

Others|

* Amethyst Mountain
* Aspen Mountain
* Barlow Peak
* Bridger Mountains
* Cook Peak
* Copper Mountain
* Dirty Mountain
* Douglas Knob
* Dunraven Peak
* Factory Hill
* Ferris Mountains
* Folsom Peak
* Garfield Peak
* Granite Mountains
* Granite Peak
* Heart Mountain
* Hedges Peak
* Hoyt Peak
* Jelm Mountain
* Mansface Hill
* Mount Hancock
* Mount Leidy
* Mount Sheridan
* Mount Washburn
* National Park Mountain
* Owl Creek Mountains
* Prospect Peak (Park County)
* Rawhide Buttes
* Roaring Mountain
* Sierra Madre Range
* Signal Mountain
* Snake River Range
* Specimen Ridge
* Sublette Mountain
* Tongue Butte
* Trischman Knob
* White Mountain
* Wilkins Peak

* v
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* e

Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming

Attractions|

* Bear Butte
* Bear Country USA
* Black Elk Wilderness
* Black Hills Central Railroad
* Black Hills National Forest
* Black Elk Peak
* Black Hills Playhouse
* Chapel in the Hills
* Crazy Horse Memorial
* Custer State Park
* Devils Tower
* Dinosaur Park
* Flintstones Bedrock City
* Gordon Stockade
* Homestake Mine
* Jewel Cave National Monument
* The Mammoth Site
* Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
* Mount Rushmore
* Mount Theodore Roosevelt Monument
* Mystic Miner Ski Resort
* Needles
* Pactola Lake
* Reptile Gardens
* Rushmore Cave
* Sheridan Lake
* Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns
* Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
* Sylvan Lake
* Terry Peak ski area
* Wind Cave National Park with bison herd

Scenic routes|

| Roads|

* Norbeck Scenic Byway
* Iron Mountain Road
* Needles Highway
* Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway

|

Trails|

* Black Hills Centennial Trail
* George S. Mickelson Trail

Populated
places|

| Cities|

* Belle Fourche
* Central City
* Custer
* Deadwood
* Edgemont
* Hot Springs
* Hill City
* Lead
* Newcastle
* Rapid City
* Spearfish
* Sturgis
* Whitewood

|

Towns|

* Buffalo Gap
* Fairburn
* Hermosa
* Keystone
* Pringle
* Sundance

Unincorporated|

* Dewey
* Four Mile
* Galena
* Hanna
* Johnson Siding
* Nemo
* Rochford
* Rockerville
* Silver City
* Three Forks

History
and people|

| Native American|

* Cheyenne
* Lakota people
* Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) established the Great Sioux Reservation
* Black Hills War, or Great Sioux War (1876)
* Black Elk
* Sitting Bull
* Crazy Horse
* Lone Horn
* Red Cloud
* Spotted Tail

|

Old West|

* Dakota Territory (1861–1889)
* Black Hills Expedition (1874)
* Black Hills gold rush (1874)
* Newton–Jenney Party (1875)
* Cheyenne-Black Hills Stage Route (1876–1887)
* Sidney-Black Hills Stage Road (1876–1887)
* Rapid City, Black Hills and Western Railroad (1893–1947)
* Seth Bullock and Martha Bullock
* General George Armstrong Custer
* Dora DuFran
* Wild Bill Hickok
* Calamity Jane
* Historian Doane Robinson
* Sol Star
* Al Swearengen
* Charlie Utter

Ghost towns|

* Addie Camp
* Bismuth
* Blacktail
* Burdock
* Cambria
* Carbonate
* Etta
* Flatiron
* Greenwood
* Maitland
* Myers City
* Mystic
* Nahant
* Novak
* Pactola
* Sheridan
* Spokane
* Terraville
* Tigerville
* Tinton
* Trojan

Modern|

* Fossil Cycad National Monument (1922–1957)
* Stratobowl (1934–1959)
* Black Hills flood (1972)
* 2000 Jasper Fire
* Sculptors Gutzon Borglum and Lincoln Borglum
* Author Joseph Bottum
* Politician Francis Case
* Poet Charles Badger Clark
* Historian Watson Parker

Transit|

* Rapid City Rapid Ride
* Jefferson Lines

Road junctions|

* Cheyenne Crossing
* Four Corners
* Four Mile
* Keystone Wye
* Maverick Junction
* Mule Creek Junction

Related|

* Mount Rushmore in popular culture

* v
* t
* e

Native Americans in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming

Historic and present tribes|

* Cheyenne
* Lakota
* Arapaho
* Arikara
* Crow
* Kiowa

Historic figures|

| Arapaho|

* Black Bear
* Sherman Coolidge
* Friday
* Little Owl
* Margaret Poisal

|

Lakota|

* Black Elk
* Crazy Horse
* Lone Horn
* Red Cloud
* Sitting Bull
* Spotted Tail

Spiritual places|

* Bear Butte
* Black Elk Peak
* Devils Tower
* Inyan Kara Mountain
* Six Grandfathers

Traditional narratives|

* Great Race

Historic events|

* History of the Black Hills
* Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)
* Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)
* Black Hills War (Great Sioux War of 1876)

Historic places|

* Great Sioux Reservation
* Sitting Bull Crystal Cavern Dance Pavilion

Modern events and places|

* Seizure of the Black Hills
* Crazy Horse Memorial
* The Journey Museum and Gardens
* United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians
* Lakota Nation Invitational
* Republic of Lakotah proposal

Modern people|

* Charlotte Black Elk
* JoAnn Tall
* Charmaine White Face

For more information, see History of Native Americans in the United States. Nearby modern reservations are Pine Ridge and Rosebud.

* v
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* e

State of South Dakota

Pierre (capital)

Topics|

* Outline
* Cities
* Climate change
* Famous South Dakotans
* Geography
* Government
* Delegations
* Elections
* History
* Bibliography
* Timeline
* State Parks
* Symbols
* Tourist attractions
* Towns and villages
* Townships
* Transportation

Society|

* Abortion
* Cannabis
* Culture
* Crime
* Demographics
* African Americans
* Economy
* Education
* Colleges and universities
* Gun laws
* LGBT rights
* Politics

Regions|

* Badlands
* Black Hills
* Coteau des Prairies
* Missouri Coteau
* Dissected Till Plains
* Drift Prairie
* East River
* Pine Ridge
* Siouxland
* West River

Larger incorporated places
pop. over 5,000|

* Aberdeen
* Belle Fourche
* Box Elder
* Brandon
* Brookings
* Harrisburg
* Huron
* Madison
* Mitchell
* Pierre
* Rapid City
* Sioux Falls
* Spearfish
* Sturgis
* Tea
* Vermillion
* Watertown
* Yankton

Smaller incorporated places
pop. 1,000 - 5,000|

* Aurora
* Baltic
* Beresford
* Britton
* Canton
* Chamberlain
* Clark
* Clear Lake
* Crooks
* Custer
* De Smet
* Deadwood
* Dell Rapids
* Eagle Butte
* Elk Point
* Flandreau
* Fort Pierre
* Freeman
* Garretson
* Gettysburg
* Gregory
* Groton
* Hartford
* Hot Springs
* Lead
* Lemmon
* Lennox
* Milbank
* Miller
* Mission
* Mobridge
* North Sioux City
* Parker
* Parkston
* Piedmont
* Platte
* Redfield
* Salem
* Sisseton
* Springfield
* Summerset
* Tyndall
* Volga
* Wagner
* Webster
* Winner

Largest CDPs
pop. over 1,000|

* Blackhawk
* Colonial Pine Hills
* Dakota Dunes
* Fort Thompson
* Green Valley
* North Eagle Butte
* North Spearfish
* Oglala
* Pine Ridge
* Rapid Valley
* Rosebud

Counties|

* Aurora
* Beadle
* Bennett
* Bon Homme
* Brookings
* Brown
* Brule
* Buffalo
* Butte
* Campbell
* Charles Mix
* Clark
* Clay
* Codington
* Corson
* Custer
* Davison
* Day
* Deuel
* Dewey
* Douglas
* Edmunds
* Fall River
* Faulk
* Grant
* Gregory
* Haakon
* Hamlin
* Hand
* Hanson
* Harding
* Hughes
* Hutchinson
* Hyde
* Jackson
* Jerauld
* Jones
* Kingsbury
* Lake
* Lawrence
* Lincoln
* Lyman
* Marshall
* McCook
* McPherson
* Meade
* Mellette
* Miner
* Minnehaha
* Moody
* Oglala Lakota
* Pennington
* Perkins
* Potter
* Roberts
* Sanborn
* Spink
* Stanley
* Sully
* Todd
* Tripp
* Turner
* Union
* Walworth
* Yankton
* Ziebach

South Dakota portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Wyoming

Cheyenne (capital)

Topics|

* Bibliography
* Governors
* Delegations
* History
* People
* State symbols
* Radio stations

Society|

* Abortion
* Climate change
* Crime
* Demographics
* Economy
* Education
* Gun laws
* LGBT rights
* Politics

Regions|

* Black Hills
* Grand Teton
* Great Basin
* Powder River Country
* Red Desert
* Yellowstone

Cities|

* Buffalo
* Casper
* Cheyenne
* Cody
* Douglas
* Evanston
* Gillette
* Green River
* Jackson
* Kemmerer
* Lander
* Laramie
* Newcastle
* Powell
* Rawlins
* Riverton
* Rock Springs
* Sheridan
* Torrington
* Worland

Counties|

* Albany
* Big Horn
* Campbell
* Carbon
* Converse
* Crook
* Fremont
* Goshen
* Hot Springs
* Johnson
* Laramie
* Lincoln
* Natrona
* Niobrara
* Park
* Platte
* Sheridan
* Sublette
* Sweetwater
* Teton
* Uinta
* Washakie
* Weston

Wyoming portal

* v
* t
* e

Mount Rushmore

Shrine of Democracy

Construction|

* Gutzon Borglum (sculptor)
* Lincoln Borglum (assistant sculptor)
* Luigi Del Bianco (chief carver)
* Walter K. Long (assisted)
* Doane Robinson (conceived idea)
* Peter Norbeck (political promoter, Norbeck-Williamson Act of 1929)

Subjects|

* George Washington
* Thomas Jefferson
* Theodore Roosevelt
* Abraham Lincoln

Museum|

* Lincoln Borglum Museum

Location|

* Black Hills of South Dakota

Legacy|

* In popular culture
* Mount Rushmore Anniversary coins
* National symbols of the United States

Related|

* Charles E. Rushmore (namesake)
* 2020 fireworks celebration
* Mount Rushmore Syndrome
* USS Rushmore (LSD-14)
* USS Rushmore (LSD-47)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Israel

Other|

* NARA
* Yale LUX

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