Geology

Wind Cave is located in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, which author John McPhee calls "the eastern preamble to the Rocky Mountains". Though their geology is unique, the origin of the Black Hills is closely tied with the mountain building events that rose the Rocky Mountains. For many millions of years before uplift, the area which the Hills occupy has fluctuated between ocean, coastline and inland environments. Many layers of rocks were deposited over this time. One rock layer in particular, the Paha Sapa Limestone, is representative of a marine environment and is host to most of the caves in the Black Hills. This includes Wind Cave, Jewel Cave and others.