Friday, June 12, 2015

Needle's Eye Tunnel -- South Dakota



This postcard of the Needles Eye Tunnel is part of a circa late-1930s series of postcards about locations along the Burlington Route railroad. The back of the postcard advertises a side trip by motor to the Black Hills that could be combined with rail trips to several destinations in the American West..


The Needles Eye Tunnel is a narrow tunnel along Needles Highway, a segment of South Dakota Highway 87 highway. This highway is considered one of the most scenic in the United States. Its name came from the needle-like granite formations along the road. The tunnel was named for a spectacular nearby rock formation resembling the eye of a needle.

Below are a contemporary photo of the Needles Eye Tunnel and a video of a drive along the Needles Highway that includes views of the tunnel (at about 1:35)  and the Needles Eye (at about 1:59).


source: Wikipedia




To View More Vintage Images

http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2015/06/sepia-saturday-283-13-june-2015.html

11 comments:

  1. It's so fun to see familiar shapes in rock formations like the needles and needle's eye. They remind me of some of the red rock formations in Sedona, Arizona -- the Teapot, Snoopy, Bell, Eagle, and submarine.

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  2. What an amazing tunnel and thanks for the video too - that really gave us a sense of what it is like.

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  3. What absolutely magnificent natural tunnels and arches!

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  4. Thank you for the video especially. What a beautiful & interesting drive! Apparently from what I could understand reading about the Needles, they were formed from molten magma, cooled underground, & then were either thrust upward or were exposed by eroding of softer soils or both. We have something kind of similar in Calif. called The Devil's Postpile which formed from a 400 ft. deep lake of lava. This all happened, of course, millions of years ago. But if the earth is 4 billion years old & so much action was going on only a few million years ago, it makes you wonder what's still going on right under our feet?!! :)

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  5. Back in the day, people used to be impressed with dramatic roads, bridges, and tunnels like this one. A Sunday drive was slower and allowed time to marvel at nature and engineering.

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  6. I'm not generally claustrophobic that I think I might feel claustrophobic Needles Eye Tunnel! (At least it's not too long.) The video tour was such fun.

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  7. If I were in a car driving along that road, I would need to be the passenger - so I could gawk at the amazing scenery!

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  8. Impressive photographs - I had never heard of the Needle Eye Tunnel before, and it is certainly aptly named.

    Family History Fun .

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  9. Great video! I would have been 'breathing in' all the way through the tunnel!

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  10. That is spectacular scenery. I think I'd like to go hiking there.

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  11. Well, you've certainly nailed this week's them. Beautiful postcard, and I enjoyed the video as well.
    You know how much a like posts that cover the "then and now".
    :)

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