Bisti Badlands Wilderness Area, New Mexico

An area infrequently visited area, the Bisti Badlands is an undeveloped park with no facilities, information or track guidance. The access track to the Bisti isn't that erroneous, although there are a few ruts which may annoy 2 wheel vehicle owners.

The Bisti is very similar to the badlands of South Dakota with the exception it's in miniature. If your expecting huge monoliths and breakaways such as found in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks you will be disappointed.

Bisti is a flat area that has been eroded by water over eons of time to erode the badlands below the land's current surface. The region before becoming eroded was a temperate rain forest, and before that, dinosaurs roamed the area.

Of course the dinosaurs are now long gone (pity), however, remnants of the forest can still be found in the guise of mounds of petrified wood.

Many of the rocks in the area have been completely leached of all chemicals leaving only iron oxides.  The iron fives the area a very distinctibe red look when the light's right.

Interesting also is the number of small ricks (image) that dot the landscape.  The rocks are quite heavy (specific gravity) and appear to iron secretions.  It's possible it also had some magnetite, however, I could not check this as I didn't have a compass or magnet handy at the time.

The area is very interesting with sculptures, mini monoliths, and colourful sediment layers. I found the most impressive part of Bisti was the isolation and definite lack of people that you normally encounter in American national parks.