Permian red beds in Clark County. Typical Red Hills topography in Barber County. They believed that spirits in the hills and streams helped to cure their illnesses and hastened the healing of wounds. Many of these chemical compounds have therapeutic and healing effects. For example, before antibiotics were discovered, a solution of magnesium sulfate, better known as Epsom Salts, was used to draw infection from wounds and to promote healing.
Sinkholes are common features of the Red Hills region.
These sinkholes were probably formed by the solution of salt and gypsum beds several hundred feet below the surface. The land above then collasped into the empty space, leaving a dip or sinkhole at the surface. Big Basin and Little Basin are two well-known sinkholes in western Clark County.