Near Interior in Jackson County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
The Geography of Hope
Badlands National Park
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
Photographed by Daniel Barriball, June 11, 2025
1. The Geography of Hope Marker
Here you stand between wilderness and civilization. In the distance before you lie Interstate 90 and a neighboring ranch. Behind you, beyond the Loop Road, Badlands Wilderness Area stretches out across 64,000 acres.
The prairie around you was once part of a vast ocean of grass covering more than half the continent. Today, less than two percent of North America's native prairie remains.
In 1976 Congress designated 64,000 acres of Badlands as wilderness, making this wilderness a part of what author and environmentalist Wallace Stegner (1913-1993) characterized as "the geography of hope."
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Natural Features • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1976.
Location. 43° 47.517′ N, 102° 5.311′ W. Marker is near Interior, South Dakota, in Jackson County. It can be reached from South Dakota Route 240. This marker is at the Prairie Wind Overlook on the Badlands Loop Road in Badlands National Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Wall SD 57790, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West River and in the Badlands. It is also in the American Lewis & Clark Corridor, on the prairies, and on the Northern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Journey to Wounded Knee (approx. 1.7 miles away); Reading the Rocks
this page online
Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 17, 2025, by Daniel Barriball of Chesterton, Indiana. This page has been viewed 79 times since then and 21 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on August 17, 2025, by Daniel Barriball of Chesterton, Indiana. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide shot of the marker in context. • Can you help?
