Black Hills

The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is somewhat of a geological anomaly. The region is considered sacred by the Native Americans of the plains. It is accurately described as an "island of trees in a sea of grass."

Biosystems

As with the geology, the biology of the Black Hills is complex. Most of the Hills are a fire-climax Ponderosa Pine forest, with more spruce and Douglas fir located in the Northern Hills, especially in the Bear Lodge Mountains which make up most of the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. However, large open parks (mountain meadows) with lush grassland rather than forest are scattered through the Hills, and the southern portions of the Hills, due to the rainshadow of the higher elevations, are dry grassland and scrub pine and juniper. Wildlife is both diverse and plentiful, with trout and other species in the creeks, while the forests and grasslands offer good habitat for buffalo, deer, antelope, big-horn sheep, mountain goats, mountain lions, and a variety of smaller animals, including prairie dogs. Biologically, the Black Hills is a meeting and mixing place, with species common both to the east and west, north and south, sharing common habitat.

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