South Dakota Bed and Breakfasts

Black Hills & Badlands

More About South Dakota

Aptly called the Mount Rushmore State, South Dakota is located in the Midwestern region of the United States. More than 90 percent of South Dakota's land area was classified as farmland in the mid-1990s. The Spirit Mound near Vermillion served as a vantage point for Lewis and Clark as they viewed the vast Prairie Plains. The Badlands of South Dakota, a region of barren ravines and cliffs, was created by volcanic action as well as by wind and water erosion. The largest buffalo herd in the U.S. lives at the Standing Butte Ranch near Pierre. Although still a work in progress, a gigantic sculpture of Crazy Horse, the famous Sioux chief, is being carved in the Black Hills, just 17 miles from famed Mount Rushmore. The project began in 1947, by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and remains uncompleted. However, it is a huge tourist attraction with cultural and educational events. His daughter, also a sculptor, has modified the monument after her father passed away in 1982. To this day, many of Ziolkowski’s children work at the site. Another famous artisan, Henry LeBeau, designed Black Hills Gold jewelry, made famous in the 1870’s. It is the official state jewelry and has been since being named so in 1988. Although not an artist, writer Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of four books, most notably, Little House on the Prairie, wrote of life on the South Dakota homestead, as has her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. History, monuments, natural terrains and more await you in South Dakota.

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