Grassy Tables

The grassy tables are small formations-- most are not very long or broad at all, and the highest are not much taller than a person is-- that are all over the basin floors out here. This is one in a cluster near Antler Butte in Sage Creek Basin. From this source: "Low mesas are scattered in the valley bottoms between the higher castles, walls, and monuments in the badlands. Sod tables are isolated erosional remnants of the once higher plains. Sod has formed a protective cover for the underlying, softer soil materials. The grass-covered surfaces are remnants of an earlier floodplain and record a wetter period when vegetation became established throughout the badlands. Sod tables can be seen in the 'Grassy Tables' area and viewed from the High Pinnacles Overlook." Badlands National Park, SD-- June 2010