For those interested in the geology of this area, the following comes from an interesting site I discovered that includes a lot of useful information for visitors to the southwest, as well as a wealth of photos: "Scenery and Geology: After a few minutes walk into the wilderness, the road moves out of sight and the surreal formations are all around. The clayish hills that cover most of the wilderness are composed of thin layers of coal, silt, shale and mudstone with varying hardness and coloration, and are mixed with more resistant sandstone which has eroded into thousands of weird formations - hoodoos, ridges, arches, balanced rocks and small slot canyons. Many ravines created by rainwater erosion cross through the hills, which also harbor occasional caves and narrow fissures several meters deep. Much of the surface is unstable - the layers are often loose, rocks are crumbling and some of the formations are quite delicate, so hikers should take care not to damage the features; there are no established trails, but walking along the ravines and the valley floor is the usual way to explore. Petrified wood is scattered across the surface, especially to the southeast - sometimes entire tree stumps, with the bark and growth rings still clearly recognizable. Fossils may also be found, and the teeth and bones of a variety of large dinosaur species have been discovered embedded in the earthy layers. Navigation can be difficult, as there are no major landmarks in the badlands, and little change in elevation, though there are several groups of distinctive orange-colored mounds in amongst the generally yellow-brown hills, that do help when route-finding. The hills also contain black coal layers, in between the shales and sandstones, and also complex bands of red/purple/black metamorphosed rock, formed by ancient coal fires. These rocks are found as boulders and strata embedded in the lighter layers, and also as fine pebbles, scattered over the surface. There is little sign of wildlife in the badlands, and vegetation is limited to small bushes along the bigger washes - otherwise the land is completely bare." Please zoom