As one travels through the Badlands, the rock formations are almost extraterrestrial looking. The formations themselves look very different from one another as you move throughout the park. Some are extremely jagged while others form mounds. The one common characteristic is the layers of sedimentary rock that is commonly known as strata. Each layer has a distinct color that usually means that that particular layer is made of a different substance than the others (e.g. sand, lava, etc.). The cool thing is that each layer often looks perfectly parallel to the next one. I don't know the exact reason for this and it is nature's mystery (at least to me).