terravelTerravel · Places · North America
United States · North America
Black Hills
What is Black Hills, and where is it?
The Black Hills are an outlying subrange of the Rocky Mountains rising abruptly from the Great Plains in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. Known as Pahá Sápa in Lakota, they reach 7,242 feet at Black Elk Peak and take their name from the dense evergreen forests that cloak them, giving them a dark appearance from a distance.
Location and Landscape Context
The Black Hills emerge as an unexpected interruption in the flat expanse of the Great Plains, straddling the border between western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. Black Elk Peak, the range's highest summit, rises to 7,242 feet above sea level. The mountains form part of the greater Rocky Mountain system and the North American Cordillera, specifically the Rocky Mountain Front. They are protected within the Black Hills National Forest and divided locally into Northern Hills and Southern Hills regions, each with distinct geography and attractions.
The distinctive dark appearance that inspired the range's name comes entirely from dense evergreen forest coverage, not from the rock itself. Ponderosa pine dominates most of the hills, with Black Hills spruce occurring in cool moist valleys of the north. Large open parks with grassland scatter through the hills, particularly in the western portion, while the southern edge features a drier pine savannah due to rain shadow effects from higher elevations.
Ancient Uplift and Erosion
The Black Hills formed through a Tertiary mountain-building episode that uplifted ancient rock layers. The core consists of granite emplaced by magma during the Trans-Hudson orogeny, dated to 1.8 billion years old, with some localized deposits reaching 2.2 to 2.8 billion years. Surrounding this granite core is a metamorphic zone of rocks that were originally sedimentary but folded and twisted by continental collision. Above these lie concentric rings of Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, creating a target-like stratigraphy that dips away from the center.
Streams carved away the higher portions of the upwarped rock layers over millions of years, gradually revealing the intricate topography visible today. The Laramide orogeny, which began around the start of the Cenozoic era, brought these layers to their present elevations. Pediments—gravel skirts surrounding the hills—mark former river locations and are generally 10,000 years old or younger, though some high-elevation deposits reach 20 million years old based on fossil evidence.
Sacred Ground and Indigenous History
The Black Hills hold profound significance for multiple Native American peoples. The Lakota call the region Pahá Sápa and refer to it as wamakaognaka e'cante, "the heart of everything that is." The Cheyenne, Arapaho, and other Northern Plains groups also recognize particular sites within the hills as sacred. Archaeological evidence indicates human presence dating back to 11,500 BC with the Clovis culture. Over centuries, the Ponca, Arikara, Mandan, Kiowa, Plains Apache, and Shoshone inhabited or passed through the region before the Lakota became the dominant group by 1850.
The 1851 First Treaty of Fort Laramie recognized the Black Hills as exclusive Lakota territory, but violations led to the Sioux Wars. The 1868 Second Treaty of Fort Laramie created the Great Sioux Reservation and protected the Black Hills "forever" from American settlement. This protection lasted less than a decade. When George Armstrong Custer's 1874 expedition confirmed gold deposits in French Creek, a rush of miners flooded the region. The subsequent Great Sioux War of 1876 resulted in federal seizure of the Black Hills and forced relocation of the Lakota to five smaller reservations.
Gold Rush and Economic Transformation
The discovery of gold in 1874 triggered a massive influx of miners between 1875 and 1878. By 1880, the Black Hills area was the most densely populated part of the Dakota Territory. Three large towns—Deadwood, Central City, and Lead—developed in the Northern Hills, surrounded by smaller gold camps and villages. Hill City and Custer City emerged in the Southern Hills. Railroads were rapidly constructed to serve the previously remote region. From 1880 onward, gold mines yielded approximately $4,000,000 annually, with silver mines producing about $3,000,000 annually.
The economy shifted away from natural resources in the late twentieth century as mining and timber declined. Tourism and hospitality industries grew to replace extractive industries. The Southern Hills developed attractions including Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Custer State Park, the Crazy Horse Memorial, and The Mammoth Site. The Northern Hills drew visitors to Spearfish Canyon, historic Deadwood, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held each August since 1938.
Ongoing Land Claims and Recent Recognition
In 1980, the United States Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians that the Black Hills were illegally seized by the federal government and ordered remuneration of the initial offering price plus interest, totaling nearly $106 million. The Lakota refused the settlement, demanding return of the land itself rather than monetary compensation. The award money remains in a Bureau of Indian Affairs account accruing compound interest. As of 2011, the Sioux's award plus interest reached approximately $1 billion to $1.3 billion.
In recent years, tribal nations have purchased sacred sites within the Black Hills. In 2012, multiple Sioux tribes jointly fundraised to buy the Pe' Sla sacred site (Reynolds Prairie), which received Federal Indian trust status in 2016. In 2016, the Southern Cheyenne, Northern Cheyenne, and Rosebud Sioux tribes purchased land near the sacred Bear Butte site for $1.1 million. In 2018, the Northern Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes purchased additional land near Bear Butte for $2.3 million, continuing efforts to reclaim culturally significant territory.
Where is Black Hills?
Black Hills is in United States, North America, at 44.00°N, 104.00°W. The closest places in the Terravel atlas are Great Salt Lake Desert (869 km), Painted Desert (1,078 km) and Black Rock Desert (1,282 km).
Photos of Black Hills
Photo: Navin75 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Grahampurse · CC BY-SA 4.0
Black Hills at a glance
Questions about Black Hills
Why are the Black Hills called black if the rock isn't black?
The name comes from the dense coverage of evergreen forests that cloak the mountains. From a distance, these dark green trees give the entire range a black appearance. The underlying rock itself is not black; the granite core and surrounding sedimentary layers are typical light-colored mountain stone.
What caves are found in the Black Hills?
The Black Hills contain more than 200 caves, formed from Pahasapa limestone and other limestone formations. Jewel Cave and Wind Cave are the most notable. These caves developed through dissolution of limestone layers by groundwater over millions of years and represent significant geological and tourist features.
What wildlife lives in the Black Hills?
The Black Hills support diverse wildlife including American bison, white-tailed and mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, prairie dogs, American martens, and various squirrel species. Black Hills creeks are known for trout. The region is a biological meeting place where species from eastern, western, northern, and southern regions overlap, creating unique habitat diversity.
How old is the granite core of the Black Hills?
The granite core of the Black Hills was emplaced by magma during the Trans-Hudson orogeny and has been dated to 1.8 billion years old. Some localized deposits in the region are even older, ranging from 2.2 to 2.8 billion years, making the Black Hills among the oldest exposed rock formations in North America.
What is the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally?
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held each August in the Northern Hills town of Sturgis. The first rally occurred on August 14, 1938. The 75th Rally in 2015 drew more than one million bikers to the Black Hills, making it a major annual event that has transformed the region's tourism economy.
Sources and further reading
This article was written from the reference material below, retrieved and reviewed for source alignment on September 13, 2026. Use official local sources for changing access or travel information.
About this page. Terravel combines its curated place catalog with credited photography and geographic reference data. Practical travel details can change; use the linked destination guide and official local sources when planning a trip. Send a correction.
Test yourself
Which mountain range rising abruptly from flat plains gets its dark name from evergreen forests, not rock color?
The Black Hills in South Dakota and Wyoming are named for their distinctive dark appearance caused by dense evergreen tree coverage, not the underlying geology—a feature that distinguishes them from the other mountain ranges listed.
Can you place today's?
Black Hills is one of 266 places in Terravel. A new one every morning.
