Big Muddy Badlands

The Big Muddy Badlands are in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, along the Big Muddy Valley near the United States border. The valley runs for roughly 55 kilometers and includes Big Muddy Lake and Castle Butte.

Castle Butte is a prominent sandstone and compressed-clay formation rising above the prairie. It has served as a landmark for Indigenous peoples, settlers, the North-West Mounted Police, and travelers.

The remote valley was used as a refuge by outlaws and horse thieves in the late nineteenth century, including Butch Cassidy and members of the Wild Bunch. Local historical accounts connect it with the northern section of Cassidy's Outlaw Trail.

The valley was carved by erosion and glacial meltwater near the end of the last ice age. Its steep clay and sandstone walls, hoodoos, and isolated buttes are the result of continued water and wind erosion.