Black Hills - Wikipedia Black Hills This article is about the region in South Dakota. For other places, see Black Hills ( disambiguation ). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( April 2016 ) Black Hills Black Hills, South Dakota, United States Highest point Peak Black Elk Peak Elevation 7,242 ft ( 2,207 m ) Coordinates 43 ° 59 ′ N 103 ° 45 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.983 ° N 103.750 ° W ﻿ / 43.983 ; - 103.750 Coordinates : 43 ° 59 ′ N 103 ° 45 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.983 ° N 103.750 ° W ﻿ / 43.983 ; - 103.750 Area 5,000 sq mi ( 13,000 km ) Geography Black Hills Country United States State South Dakota Geology Orogeny Trans - Hudson and Laramide Age of rock Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic and Tertiary Type of rock Shale, sandstone, limestone, slate, quartzite and granite Black Hills and Badlands Sculpture Mount Rushmore Crazy Horse Geologic formations Badlands Needles Devils Tower Bear Butte Spearfish Canyon Mountains Black Elk Peak, formerly Harney Peak Caves Wind Cave Jewel Cave Parks, forests, and grassland Wind Cave Custer State Park Black Hills National Forest Black Elk Wilderness Buffalo Gap National Grassland Lakes Sylvan Pactola Satellite image with shaded relief map of Black Hills in west South Dakota The Black Hills ( Lakota : Ȟe Sápa, Cheyenne : Moʼȯhta - voʼhonáaeva, Hidatsa : awaxaawi shiibisha ) are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak ( formerly known as Harney Peak ), which rises to 7,244 feet ( 2,208 m ), is the range 's highest summit. The Black Hills encompass the Black Hills National Forest. The name `` Black Hills '' is a translation of the Lakota Pahá Sápa. The hills were so - called because of their dark appearance from a distance, as they were covered in trees. Native Americans have a long history in the Black Hills. After conquering the Cheyenne in 1776, the Lakota took over the territory of the Black Hills, which became central to their culture. In 1868, the U.S. government signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, establishing the Great Sioux Reservation west of the Missouri River, and exempting the Black Hills from all white settlement forever. However, when settlers discovered gold there in 1874, as a result of George Armstrong Custer 's Black Hills Expedition, miners swept into the area in a gold rush. The US government took back the Black Hills and in 1889 reassigned the Lakota, against their wishes, to five smaller reservations in western South Dakota, selling off 9 million acres of their former land. Unlike most of South Dakota, the Black Hills were settled by European Americans primarily from population centers to the west and south of the region, as miners flocked there from earlier gold boom locations in Colorado and Montana. As the economy of the Black Hills has shifted from natural resources ( mining and timber ) since the late 20th century, the hospitality and tourism industries have grown to take its place. Locals tend to divide the Black Hills into two areas : `` The Southern Hills '' and `` The Northern Hills ''. The Southern Hills is home to Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Black Elk Peak ( the highest point in the United States east of the Rockies, formerly known as Harney Peak ), Custer State Park ( the largest state park in South Dakota ), the Crazy Horse Memorial ( the largest sculpture in the world ), and the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, the world 's largest mammoth research facility. Attractions in the Northern Hills include Spearfish Canyon, historic Deadwood, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held each August. The first Rally was held on August 14, 1938 and the 75th Rally in 2015 saw more than 1 million bikers visit the Black Hills. Devils Tower National Monument, located in the Wyoming Black Hills, is an important nearby attraction and was the United States ' first national monument. Contents 1 History 2 Takeover of Black Hills 3 20th century land claims 4 Breakup of Great Sioux Reservation 5 Geology 5.1 Precambrian 5.2 Paleozoic 5.3 Mesozoic 5.4 Cenozoic 6 Biosystems 7 Regions of the Black Hills 8 Tourism and economy 9 Photo gallery 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links History Although written history of the region begins with the Sioux domination of the land over the native Arikara tribes, researchers have carbon - dating and stratigraphic records to analyze the early history of the area. Scientists have been able to utilize carbon - dating to evaluate the age of tools found in the area, which indicate a human presence that dates as far back as 11,500 BC with the Clovis culture. Stratigraphic records indicate environmental changes in the land, such as flood and drought patterns. For example, large - scale flooding of the Black Hill basins occurs at a probability rate of 0.01, making such floods occur once in every 100 years. However, during The Medieval Climate Anomaly, or the Medieval Warm Period, flooding increased in the basins. A stratigraphic record of the area shows that during this 400 - year period, thirteen 100 - year floods occurred in four of the region 's basins, while the same four basins from the previous 800 years only experienced nine floods. The Arikara arrived by AD 1500, followed by the Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa and Pawnee. The Lakota ( also known as Sioux ) arrived from Minnesota in the 18th century and drove out the other tribes, who moved west. They claimed the land, which they called Ȟe Sápa ( Black Mountains ). The mountains commonly became known as the Black Hills. Gold miners in the Black Hills. Abandoned cabin near Dewey in the southern Black Hills. François and Louis de La Vérendrye probably travelled near the Black Hills in 1743. Fur trappers and traders had some dealings with the Native Americans. European Americans increasingly encroached on Lakota territory. After defeating the Lakota Sioux, the United States government made peace under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, establishing the Great Sioux Reservation west of the Missouri River and acknowledging their control of the Teton range. In this treaty, they protected the Black Hills `` forever '' from European - American settlement. Both the Sioux and Cheyenne also claimed rights to the land, saying that in their cultures, it was considered the axis mundi, or sacred center of the world. Although rumors of gold in the Black Hills had circulated for decades ( see Thoen Stone and Pierre - Jean De Smet ), it was not until 1874 that Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer of the 7th US Cavalry led an expedition there and discovered gold in French Creek. An official announcement of gold was made by the newspaper reporters accompanying the expedition. The following year, the Newton - Jenney Party conducted the first detailed survey of the Black Hills. The surveyor for the party, Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, was the first European American to ascend to the top of Black Elk Peak. This highest point in the Black Hills is 7,242 feet above sea level. During the 1875 -- 1878 gold rush, thousands of miners went to the Black Hills ; in 1880, the area was the most densely populated part of the Dakota Territory. Three large towns developed in the Northern Hills : Deadwood, Central City, and Lead. Around these were groups of smaller gold camps, towns, and villages. Hill City and Custer City sprang up in the Southern Hills. Railroads were quickly constructed to the previously remote area. From 1880 on, the gold mines yielded about $4,000,000 annually, and the silver mines about $3,000,000 annually. Inyan Kara is a sacred mountain to Lakota. Takeover of Black Hills The conflict over control of the region sparked the Black Hills War ( 1876 ), also known as the Great Sioux War, the last major Indian War on the Great Plains. Following the defeat of the Lakota and their Cheyenne and Arapaho allies in 1876, the United States took control of the Black Hills and another strip of land, in violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Lakota never accepted the validity of the US appropriation in 1877. They have continued to try to reclaim the property and filed a suit against the federal government. 20th century land claims On July 23, 1980, in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Black Hills were illegally taken by the federal government and ordered remuneration of the initial offering price plus interest, nearly $106 million. The Lakota refused the settlement, as they wanted the Black Hills returned to them. The money remains in an interest - bearing account, which, as of 2015, amounts to over $1.2 billion, but the Lakota still refuse to take the money. They believe that accepting the settlement would allow the US government to justify taking ownership of the Black Hills. In 2012, United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya conducted a 12 - day tour of Native Americans ' land to determine how the US is carrying out the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, endorsed in 2010 by the Obama administration. Anaya met with tribes in seven states on reservations and in urban areas as well as with members of the Obama administration and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Anaya tentatively recommended the return of lands to some tribes, including the Black Hills to the Lakota Sioux. His full official report with recommendations was due in September 2012. Breakup of Great Sioux Reservation This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) In 1889, the United States dismantled the Great Sioux Reservation, forcing the peoples on to five smaller reservations west of the Missouri River. It made available 9 million acres throughout this area for purchase for ranching or homesteading, in the same year that North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to the Union. Many of the early farms established by homesteaders in the 20th century failed, as they were too small for farming in the arid regions. People made many mistakes and plowed the grasses holding the earth on the plains, causing the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Geology This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) Gold - quartz placer nugget, found near Lead. About 1 cm wide. The geology of the Black Hills is complex. A Tertiary mountain - building episode is responsible for the uplift and current topography of the Black Hills region. This uplift was marked by volcanic activity in the northern Black Hills. The southern Black Hills are characterized by Precambrian granite, pegmatite, and metamorphic rocks that comprise the core of the entire Black Hills uplift. This core is rimmed by Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks. The stratigraphy of the Black Hills is laid out like a target, as it is an oval dome, with rings of different rock types dipping away from the center. Precambrian The granite core of the Black Hills rises 7,244 feet ( 2,208 m ) at Black Elk Peak. The ' bulls eye ' of this target is called the granite core. The granite of the Black Hills was emplaced by magma generated during the Trans - Hudson orogeny and contains abundant pegmatite. The core of the Black Hills has been dated to 1.8 billion years. There are other localized deposits that have been dated to around 2.2 to 2.8 billion years. One of these is located in the northern hills. It is called French Creek Granite although it has been metamorphosed into gneiss. The other is called the Bear Mountain complex, and it is located in the west central part of the hills. The angular unconformity between the Deadwood Formation and the underlying Precambrian rocks near Rapid City. `` Making a concentric ring around the core is the metamorphic zone. The rocks in this ring are all very old, as much as 2 billion years and older. This zone is very complex, filled with many diverse rock types. The rocks were originally sedimentary, until there was a collision between the North American continent and a terrane. This collision, called the Trans - Hudson Orogeny, caused the original rocks to fold and twist into a vast mountain range. Over the millions of years, these tilted rocks, which in many areas are tilted to 90 degrees or more, eroded. Today we see the evidence of this erosion in the Black Hills, where the metamorphic rocks end in an angular unconformity below the younger sedimentary layers. Paleozoic The final layers of the Black Hills consist of sedimentary rocks. The oldest lie on top of the metamorphic layers at a much shallower angle. This rock called the Deadwood Formation is mostly sandstone and was the original source of gold found in the Deadwood area. Above the Deadwood Formation lies the Englewood Formation and Pahasapa limestone, which is the source of the more than 200 caves found in the Black Hills, including Jewel Cave and Wind Cave. The Minnelusa Formation is next and is composed of highly variable sandstones and limestones followed by the Opeche shale and the Minnekahta limestone. Mesozoic The next rock layer, the Spearfish Formation, forms a valley around the hills called the Red Valley and is often referred to as the Race Track. It is mostly red shale with beds of gypsum, and circles much of the Black Hills. These shale and gypsum beds as well as the nearby limestone beds of the Minnekahta are used in the manufacture of cement at a cement plant in Rapid City. Next is the shale and sandstone Sundance Formation, which is topped by the Morrison Formation and the Unkpapa sandstone. The outermost feature of the dome stands out as a hogback ridge. The ridge is made out of the Lakota Formation and the Fallriver sandstone, which are collectively called the Inyan Kara Group. Above this, the layers of rocks are less distinct and are all mainly grey shale with three exceptions : the Newcastle sandstone ; the Greenhorn limestone, which contains many shark teeth fossils ; and the Niobrara Formation, which is composed mainly of chalk. These outer ridges are called cuestas. Cenozoic Fallingrock cliff in Dark Canyon. The rock is of Paleozoic age but is capped with a Cenozoic gravel terrace. The preceding layers were deposited in a horizontal manner. All of them can be seen in core samples and well logs from the flattest parts of the Great Plains. It took a period of uplift to bring them to their present topographical levels in the Black Hills. This uplift, called the Laramide orogeny, began around the beginning of the Cenozoic and left a line of igneous rocks through the northern hills superimposed on the rocks already discussed. This line extends from Bear Butte in the east to Devils Tower in the west. Evidence of Cenozoic volcanic eruptions, if this happened, has long since been eroded away. The Black Hills also have a ' skirt ' of gravel covering them in areas, which are called pediments. Formed as the waterways cut down into the uplifting hills, they represent the former locations of today 's rivers. These beds are generally around 10,000 years old or younger, judging by the artifacts and fossils found. A few places, mainly in the high elevations, are older, as old as 20 million years, according to camel and rodent fossils found. Some gravels have been found but for the most part, these older beds have been eroded away. Biosystems As with the geology, the biology of the Black Hills is complex. Most of the Hills are a fire - climax ponderosa pine forest, with Black Hills spruce ( Picea glauca var. densata ) occurring in cool moist valleys of the Northern Hills. Oddly, this endemic variety of spruce does not occur in the moist Bear Lodge Mountains, which make up most of the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. Large open parks ( mountain meadows ) with lush grassland rather than forest are scattered through the Hills ( especially the western portion ), and the southern edge of the Hills, due to the rainshadow of the higher elevations, are covered by a dry pine savannah, with stands of mountain mahogany and Rocky Mountain juniper. Wildlife is both diverse and plentiful. Black Hills creeks are known for their trout, while the forests and grasslands offer good habitat for American bison, white - tailed and mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and a variety of smaller animals, like prairie dogs, American martens, American red squirrels, Northern flying squirrels, yellow - bellied marmots, and fox squirrels. Biologically, the Black Hills is a meeting and mixing place, with species common to regions to the east, west, north, and south. The Hills do, however, support some endemic taxa, the most famous of which is probably white - winged junco ( Junco hyemalis aikeni ). Some other endemics are Cooper 's Rocky Mountain snail, Black Hills subspecies of red - bellied snake, and a Black Hills subspecies of southern red - backed vole. Some birds that are only in the Black Hills and not the rest of South Dakota are pinyon jay, gray jay, three - toed woodpecker, black - backed woodpecker, American dipper, ruffed grouse, and others. Regions of the Black Hills Black Hills National Forest Districts Map The northern Black Hills approximate Lawrence and Meade Counties and are roughly equivalent to the Northern Hills District of the Black Hills National Forest. The central Black Hills ( the Mystic District of the Black Hills National Forest ) are located in Pennington County west of Rapid City. The southern Black Hills are in Custer County and are administered in the national forest 's Hell Canyon District. Finally, Wyoming 's Black Hills follow the Bearlodge District, approximately Weston and Crook Counties. Geologically separate from the Black Hills are the Elk Mountains, a small range forming the southwest portion of the region. Tourism and economy Black Hills opposite Mount Rushmore Homestake Mine in 1889 The region is home to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Black Elk Peak, Custer State Park ( the largest state park in South Dakota, and one of the largest in the US ), Bear Butte State Park, Devils Tower National Monument, and the Crazy Horse Memorial. The Black Hills also hosts the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally each August. The rally was started in 1940 and the 65th Rally in 2005 saw more than 550,000 bikers visit the Black Hills. It is a key part of the regional economy. The George S. Mickelson Trail is a recently opened multi-use path through the Black Hills that follows the abandoned track of the historic railroad route from Edgemont to Deadwood. The train used to be the only way to bring supplies to the miners in the Hills. The trail is about 110 miles in length, and can be used by hikers, cross-country skiers, and cyclists. The cost is two dollars per day, or ten dollars annually. Today, the major city in the Black Hills is Rapid City, with an incorporated population of almost 70,000 and a metropolitan population of 125,000. It serves a market area covering much of five states : North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. In addition to tourism and mining ( including coal, specialty minerals, and the now declining gold mining ), the Black Hills economy includes ranching ( sheep and cattle, primarily, with bison and ratites becoming more common ), timber ( lumber ), Ellsworth Air Force Base, and some manufacturing, including Black Hills gold jewelry, cement, electronics, cabinetry, guns and ammunition. In many ways, the Black Hills functions as a very spread - out urban area with a population ( not counting tourists ) of 250,000. Other important Black Hills cities and towns include : Belle Fourche, a ranching town Spearfish, home of Black Hills State University Deadwood, a historic and well - preserved gambling mecca Lead, home of the now - closed Homestake Mine ( gold ) and the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory Keystone, a tourism town just outside Mount Rushmore Hill City, a timber and tourism town in the center of the Hills Custer, a mining and tourism town and headquarters for Black Hills National Forest Hot Springs, an old resort town in the southern Hills Sturgis, originally a military town ( Fort Meade, now a VA center, is located just to the east ). Now famous for one of the largest motorcycle rallies in the world. Newcastle, center of the Black Hills petroleum production and refining. Photo gallery Panorama of the southern Black Hills. Panorama of the southern Black Hills. Southern Black Hills near Dewey and Burdock. The prairie in the southern Hills is dry and some mountains have table shapes. Paddleboat on Sylvan Lake. Black Hills from Black Elk Peak. See also Cypress Hills ( Canada ), a similar landform Notes Jump up ^ `` Hidatsa Lessons Vocab2 ''. Hidatsa Language Program. Archived from the original on 2013 - 06 - 06. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 17. Jump up ^ `` Black Hills ''. Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Jump up ^ `` Black Elk ''. NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved 2011 - 05 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Black Hills National Forest -- Frequently Asked Questions ''. United States Forest Service. Jump up ^ Mattison, Ray H. ( 1955 ). `` The First Fifty Years ''. National Park Service. Retrieved January 19, 2012. Jump up ^ `` The Buffalo War ''. Public Broadcasting Service. Jump up ^ `` History of the Black Hills ''. U.S. National Park Service. Jump up ^ Eyanopopi : The Heart of the Sioux. Irwindale, California : Centre Communications. 1988. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2012. Jump up ^ `` UN official calls for US return of native land ''. BBC News Online. May 5, 2012. Jump up ^ `` U.S. must heal native people 's wounds, return lands : U.N. ''. Reuters. May 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` US should return stolen land to Indian tribes, says United Nations ''. The Guardian. May 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Red Valley ''. Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Jump up ^ `` Black Hills National Forest -- Environment ''. Gorp.com. Retrieved 2010 - 07 - 27. References Zieske, Scott ( Spring 1985 ). `` Fly Fishing in the Black Hills ca 1910 '' ( PDF ). The American Fly Fisher. Manchester, VT : American Museum of Fly Fishing. 12 ( 2 ) : 22 -- 25. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2015 - 09 - 06. Retrieved 2014 - 11 - 19. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Black Hills. `` Black Hills ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 ( 11th ed. ). 1911. Black Hills at DMOZ Black Hills National Forest An article about the land the people of Black Hills Mountains of South Dakota Black Hills Bear Butte Bear Mountain Black Elk Peak Cicero Peak Elk Mountains Iron Mountain Mount Rushmore Terry Peak Others Black Horse Butte Castle Rock Butte Deers Ears Butte Dogie Butte Eagle Butte Granite Peak Grindstone Butte Hump Butte Polo Peak Turtle Butte White Butte Mountains of Wyoming Absaroka Range Abiathar Peak Atkins Peak Barronette Peak Clayton Mountain Colter Peak Druid Peak Eagle Peak Fortress Mountain Francs Peak Index Peak Mount Chittenden Mount Doane Mount Hornaday Mount Langford Mount Norris Mount Schurz Mount Stevenson Pilot Peak Sheep Mesa The Thunderer Washakie Needles Younts Peak Bighorn Mountains Bighorn Peak Black Tooth Mountain Bomber Mountain Cloud Peak Darton Peak Hallelujah Peak The Innominate Mather Peaks Mount Woolsey Penrose Peak Black Hills Bear Lodge Mountains Inyan Kara Mountain Others Missouri Buttes Gallatin Range Antler Peak Bannock Peak Bunsen Peak Clagett Butte Dome Mountain ( Park County ) Echo Peak Gray Peak Joseph Peak Mount Everts Mount Haynes Mount Holmes Mount Jackson Purple Mountain Quadrant Mountain Sepulcher Mountain Terrace Mountain Three Rivers Peak Trilobite Point White Peaks Gros Ventre Range Doubletop Peak Sheep Mountain Laramie Mountains Casper Mountain Laramie Peak Muddy Mountain Medicine Bow Mountains Elk Mountain ( Carbon County ) Medicine Bow Peak Salt River Range Mount Fitzpatrick Teton Range Albright Peak Battleship Mountain Bivouac Peak Buck Mountain Cathedral Group Cleaver Peak Cloudveil Dome Disappointment Peak Doane Peak Dry Ridge Mountain Eagles Rest Peak Elk Mountain ( Teton County ) Forellen Peak Fossil Mountain Grand Teton Green Lakes Mountain Housetop Mountain The Jaw Littles Peak Maidenform Peak Middle Teton Moose Mountain Mount Bannon Mount Glory Mount Hunt Mount Jedediah Smith Mount Meek Mount Moran Mount Saint John Mount Wister Mount Woodring Mount Woodrow Wilson Nez Perce Peak Owl Peak Prospectors Mountain Rammell Mountain Ranger Peak Raynolds Peak Red Mountain Rendezvous Mountain Rendezvous Peak Rock of Ages Rockchuck Peak Rolling Thunder Mountain Shadow Peak South Teton Spearhead Peak Static Peak Survey Peak Symmetry Spire Table Mountain Teepe Pillar Teewinot Mountain Temple Peak Thor Peak Traverse Peak Veiled Peak The Wall Window Peak Uinta Mountains Humpy Peak Medicine Butte Wind River Range American Legion Peak Atlantic Peak Bair Peak Bastion Peak Bastion Peak - Northeast Peak Bears Ears Mountain Big Sandy Mountain Block Tower Bow Mountain Brown Cliffs North Cathedral Peak Desolation Peak Dog Tooth Peak Dome Mountain ( Hot Springs County ) Doublet Peak Downs Mountain East Temple Peak Flagstone Peak ( Fremont County ) Fremont Peak Gannett Peak Harrower Peak Henderson Peak Jackson Peak Klondike Peak Knife Point Mountain Lander Peak Lizard Head Peak Mitchell Peak Mount Bonneville Mount Chauvenet Mount Febbas Mount Helen Mount Hooker Mount Koven Mount Lander Mount Nystrom Mount Owen Mount Sacagawea Mount Warren Mount Washakie Mount Whitecap Overhanging Tower Payson Peak Pingora Peak Pylon Peak Raid Peak Rampart Peak Roaring Fork Mountain Shale Mountain Sharks Nose South Downs Mountain The Sphinx Split Mountain Sunbeam Peak Three Waters Mountain Torrey Peak Turret Peak Twin Peaks Union Peak Valentine Mountain Valentine Peak War Bonnet Peak Warrior Peaks Watch Tower Whiskey Mountain Wind River Peak Wolfs Head Wyoming Range Wyoming Peak Others Amethyst Mountain Aspen Mountain Barlow Peak Bridger Mountains Cook Peak Dirty Mountain Douglas Knob Dunraven Peak Factory Hill Ferris Mountains Folsom Peak Garfield Peak Granite Mountains Granite Peak Heart Mountain Hedges Peak Hoyt Peak Mansface Hill Mount Hancock Mount Leidy Mount Sheridan Mount Washburn National Park Mountain Owl Creek Mountains Prospect Peak ( Park County ) Rawhide Buttes Roaring Mountain Sierra Madre Range Signal Mountain Snake River Range Specimen Ridge Sublette Mountain Tongue Butte Trischman Knob White Mountain Wilkins Peak Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming Attractions Bear Butte Black Elk Wilderness Black Hills Central Railroad Black Hills National Forest Black Elk Peak Black Hills Playhouse Chapel in the Hills Crazy Horse Memorial Custer State Park Devils Tower Dinosaur Park Flintstones Bedrock City Homestake Mine Jewel Cave National Monument Mammoth Site Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Mount Rushmore National Memorial Mystic Miner Ski Resort Needles Pactola Lake Reptile Gardens Rushmore Cave Sheridan Lake Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Sylvan Lake Terry Peak ski area Wind Cave National Park with bison herd Scenic routes Roads Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road Needles Highway Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway Trails Mickelson Centennial Trail Populated places Cities Belle Fourche Central City Custer Deadwood Edgemont Hot Springs Hill City Lead Newcastle Rapid City Spearfish Sturgis Whitewood Towns Buffalo Gap Fairburn Hermosa Keystone Pringle Sundance Unincorporated Dewey Four Mile Galena Hanna Johnson Siding Nemo Rochford Rockerville Silver City Three Forks History and people Native American Cheyenne people Lakota people Treaty of Fort Laramie ( 1868 ) established the Great Sioux Reservation Black Hills War, or Great Sioux War ( 1876 ) Black Elk Sitting Bull Crazy Horse Lone Horn Red Cloud Spotted Tail Old West Dakota Territory ( 1861 -- 1889 ) Black Hills Expedition ( 1874 ) Black Hills Gold Rush ( 1874 ) Newton -- Jenney Party ( 1875 ) Cheyenne - Black Hills Stage Route ( 1876 - 1887 ) Sidney - Black Hills Stage Road ( 1876 - 1887 ) Rapid City, Black Hills and Western Railroad ( 1893 -- 1947 ) Seth Bullock and Martha Bullock General George Armstrong Custer Dora DuFran Wild Bill Hickok Calamity Jane Historian Doane Robinson Sol Star Al Swearengen Charlie Utter Ghost towns Addie Camp Bismuth Blacktail Burdock Cambria Carbonate Etta Flatiron Greenwood Maitland Myers City Nahant Novak Pactola Sheridan Spokane Terraville Tigerville Tinton Trojan Modern Fossil Cycad National Monument ( 1922 - 1957 ) Stratobowl ( 1934 - 1959 ) Black Hills flood ( 1972 ) Sculptors Gutzon Borglum and Lincoln Borglum Author Joseph Bottum Politician Francis H. Case Poet Charles Badger Clark Historian Watson Parker Road junctions Carlile Junction Cheyenne Crossing Four Corners Four Mile Keystone Wye Maverick Junction Mule Creek Junction Related Mount Rushmore in popular culture Native Americans in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming Historic and present tribes Cheyenne Lakota Arapaho Arikara Crow Kiowa Historic figures Sitting Bull Crazy Horse Lone Horn Red Cloud Spotted Tail Black Elk Historic native spiritual places Inyan Kara Mountain Bear Butte Traditional narratives Devils Tower Great Race Historic events History of the Black Hills Treaty of Fort Laramie ( 1851 ) Treaty of Fort Laramie ( 1868 ) Black Hills War ( Great Sioux War of 1876 ) Historic reservations Great Sioux Reservation Modern events and places Black Hills Land Claim The Journey Museum and Gardens United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians Lakota Nation Invitational Modern people JoAnn Tall Charmaine White Face For more information, see History of Native Americans in the United States. Nearby modern reservations are Pine Ridge and Rosebud. State of South Dakota Pierre ( capital ) Topics Bibliography Cities Delegations Famous South Dakotans Geography Government History Timeline Towns & Villages Townships Transportation State Parks Symbols Universities Tourist attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Badlands Black Hills Coteau des Prairies Coteau du Missouri Dissected Till Plains Drift Prairie East River Pine Ridge Siouxland West River Larger cities pop. over 5,000 Aberdeen Belle Fourche Box Elder Brandon Brookings Harrisburg Huron Madison Mitchell Pierre Rapid City Sioux Falls Spearfish Sturgis Tea Vermillion Watertown Yankton Smaller cities pop. 1,000 - 5,000 Baltic Beresford Britton Canton Chamberlain Clark Clear Lake Crooks Custer De Smet Deadwood Dell Rapids Eagle Butte Elk Point Flandreau Fort Pierre Freeman Garretson Gettysburg Gregory Groton Hartford Hill City Hot Springs Lead Lemmon Lennox Martin Milbank Miller Mission Mobridge North Sioux City Parker Parkston Platte Redfield Salem Sisseton Springfield Summerset Tyndall Volga Wagner Webster Winner Largest CDPs pop. over 1,000 Blackhawk Colonial Pine Hills Dakota Dunes Fort Thompson North Eagle Butte North Spearfish Oglala Pine Ridge Porcupine Rapid Valley Rosebud Largest towns pop. over 500 Aurora Humboldt St. Francis Wall Counties Aurora Beadle Bennett Bon Homme Brookings Brown Brule Buffalo Butte Campbell Charles Mix Clark Clay Codington Corson Custer Davison Day Deuel Dewey Douglas Edmunds Fall River Faulk Grant Gregory Haakon Hamlin Hand Hanson Harding Hughes Hutchinson Hyde Jackson Jerauld Jones Kingsbury Lake Lawrence Lincoln Lyman Marshall McCook McPherson Meade Mellette Miner Minnehaha Moody Oglala Lakota Pennington Perkins Potter Roberts Sanborn Spink Stanley Sully Todd Tripp Turner Union Walworth Yankton Ziebach State of Wyoming Cheyenne ( capital ) Topics Bibliography Fauna Governors Delegations Geography Government History People Tourist attractions State symbols Radio stations Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Black Hills Grand Teton Great Basin Powder River Country Red Desert Yellowstone Cities Buffalo Casper Cheyenne Cody Douglas Evanston Gillette Green River Jackson Lander Laramie Powell Rawlins Riverton Rock Springs Sheridan Torrington Worland Counties Albany Big Horn Campbell Carbon Converse Crook Fremont Goshen Hot Springs Johnson Laramie Lincoln Natrona Niobrara Park Platte Sheridan Sublette Sweetwater Teton Uinta Washakie Weston VIAF : 236542458 GND : 4413010 - 7 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Hills&oldid=797988400 '' Categories : Black Hills Mount Rushmore Physiographic sections Mountain ranges of South Dakota Mountain ranges of Wyoming Regions of South Dakota Regions of Wyoming Great Plains Tertiary volcanism Sacred mountains Religious places of the indigenous peoples of North America Lakota mythology Economy of South Dakota Great Sioux War of 1876 Landforms of Lawrence County, South Dakota Landforms of Meade County, South Dakota Landforms of Pennington County, South Dakota Landforms of Custer County, South Dakota Landforms of Weston County, Wyoming Landforms of Crook County, Wyoming Hidden categories : Wikipedia pages move - protected due to vandalism Articles needing additional references from August 2017 All articles needing additional references Wikipedia articles in need of updating from April 2016 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing Lakota - language text Articles containing non-English - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2015 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2015 Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Articles with DMOZ links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans বাংলা Беларуская Boarisch Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Français Frysk 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Shqip Simple English Suomi Svenska Tsetsêhestâhese Türkçe Українська اردو 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 30 August 2017, at 09 : 42. 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Question: where are the black hills located in south dakota
Answer: the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota