Part 6

The section between the steep bluff and the river is characterized by a tortuous labyrinth of steep-sided gullies known as "badlands." The badlands area is of historical interest since it was the impassability of this ground that forced the earliest emigrants on the trail to detour away from the river, first through Robidoux Pass, and later through Mitchell Pass. The badlands are also of exceptional geologic interest as an example of rapid erosion in soft rock beds of comparatively uniform composition. There is a natural bridge in one of the ravines. The area is of special interest paleontologically because of the wealth of Oligocene fossils to be found there. A graveled road within the monument boundaries follows the Gering Canal through the badlands area. This can be reached via the road to Scotts Bluff Country Club, at the east foot of the bluff.

_South Bluff Wild Area._

The area within the monument south of State Route 86, including Dome Rock and the South Bluff, is unimproved and no improvements are planned. This is a relatively unspoiled area of considerable scenic value, abounding in features of geological and botanical interest. You are free to ascend South Bluff or roam on foot through this area on either side of Mitchell Pass; however, no fires or overnight camps are permitted. Rough clothing and stout footgear are recommended. Climbing of Dome Rock is extremely perilous, and is discouraged because of the crumbly nature of the Brule clay formation that makes up its steep walls.

_Related Areas_

Nearby Chimney Rock National Historic Site is preserved by cooperative agreement between the Department of the Interior, the Nebraska State Historical Society, and the City of Bayard, Nebr. Included in the National Park System are these other areas commemorating phases of early western history: Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, Mo.; Homestead National Monument, Nebr.; Fort Laramie National Monument, Wyo.; Grand Teton National Park, Wyo.; and Whitman National Monument, Wash.

_Administration_

Scotts Bluff National Monument was carved out of the public domain by Presidential proclamation on December 12, 1919, and contains more than 5 square miles. A superintendent, whose address is Box 136, Gering, Nebr., is in immediate charge.

_Suggested Readings_

Chittenden, Hiram M., _American Fur Trade of the Far West_. 2 vols. Rufus Rockwell Wilson, Inc., New York, 1936.

Driggs, Howard R., _Westward America_ (with reproductions of watercolor paintings by William H. Jackson). Somerset Books, Inc., New York, 1942.

Federal Writers' Project, _The Oregon Trail_. Hastings House, New York, 1939.

Ghent, W. J., _The Road to Oregon_. Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1929.

Hulbert, Archer B., _Forty-Niners, the Chronicle of the California Trail_. Blue Ribbon Books, Inc., New York, 1931.

Jackson, Joseph H., ed., _Gold Rush Album_. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1949.

Mattes, Merrill J., "A History of Old Fort Mitchell." _Nebraska History_, XXIV, 71-82 (Apr.-June 1943).

-- -- --, "Hiram Scott, Fur Trader." _Nebraska History_, XXVI, 127-162 (July-Sept. 1945).

-- -- --, "Robidoux's Trading Post at 'Scott's Bluffs,' and the California Gold Rush." _Nebraska History_, XXX, 95-138 (June 1949).

-- -- --, "Fort Mitchell, Scotts Bluff, Nebraska Territory." _Nebraska History_, XXXIII, 1-34 (Mar. 1952).

-- -- --, "Chimney Rock on the Oregon Trail." _Nebraska History_, XXXVI, 1-26 (Mar. 1955).

Monaghan, Jay, _The Overland Trail_. The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, 1947.

Olson, James C., _History of Nebraska_. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1955.

Paden, Irene D., _The Wake of the Prairie Schooner_. The MacMillan Co., New York, 1943.

Parkman, Francis, _The Oregon Trail_. Langhart and Co., Inc., New York, 1931.

Rollins, Phillip A., ed., _Discovery of the Oregon Trail: Robert Stuart's Narratives_. Edward Eberstadt and Sons, New York, 1935.

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1961 OF--584508

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES

(Price lists of National Park Service publications may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C.)

Antietam Bandelier Chalmette Chickamauga and Chattanooga Battlefields Custer Battlefield Custis-Lee Mansion, the Robert E. Lee Memorial Fort Laramie Fort McHenry Fort Necessity Fort Pulaski Fort Raleigh Fort Sumter George Washington Birthplace Gettysburg Guilford Courthouse Hopewell Village Independence Jamestown, Virginia Kings Mountain The Lincoln Museum and the House Where Lincoln Died Manassas (Bull Run) Montezuma Castle Morristown, a Military Capital of the Revolution Ocmulgee Petersburg Battlefields Saratoga Scotts Bluff Shiloh Statue of Liberty Vanderbilt Mansion Vicksburg Yorktown

Transcriber's Notes

--Silently corrected a few typos.

--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.

--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.