page_title: Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
section_title: Topography
hierarchical_section_title: Pine Ridge Indian Reservation / Geography / Topography
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the course, watershed, and tributaries of the White River in the US states of Nebraska and South Dakota.
context_page_description: The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was created by the Act of March 2, 1889, 25 Stat. 888. in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border. Today it consists of 3,468.85 sq mi of land area and is one of the largest reservations in the United States, larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
  The reservation encompasses the entirety of Oglala Lakota County and Bennett County, the southern half of Jackson County, and a small section of Sheridan County added by Executive Order No. 2980 of February 20, 1904. Of the 3,142 counties in the United States, these are among the poorest. Only 84,000 acres of land are suitable for agriculture. The 2000 census population of the reservation was 15,521; but a study conducted by Colorado State University and accepted by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has estimated the resident population to reach 28,787.
context_section_description: The topography is generally rolling mixed grass prairie, interspersed in various location, especially to the north, into typical badlands topography. The higher elevations of the prairie are covered by wind blown sands that form dunes, blowouts, and thin sheets. The southern part of the reservation is crossed by Pine Ridge, which is probably a fault scarp, and which supports the growth of scattered pine and cedar trees. Well-developed sandhills are the dominant features along the southern boundary of the reservation, which extend into the sandhills region of Nebraska. Only 84,000 acres (340 km²) of the more than 2 million acres (8,100 km²) of the reservation are considered land suitable for agricultural uses, and the climate, soil and water conditions are challenging. Many farmers among the Lakota can do little more than gain a subsistence living from the land.
  The White River flows through the reservation. It was named for the water's white-gray color, a result of eroded sand, clay, and volcanic ash carried by the river. Draining a basin of about 10,200 square miles (26,000 km²), the stream flows through a region of sparsely populated hills, plateaus, and badlands. It flows west to east through the reservation.
caption: The White River and multiple tributaries cut across the reservation
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