Located in the Southwestern corner of South Dakota, the Black Hills have lured visitors for thousands of years. Spearfish Canyon, which runs through the heart of the Northern Black Hills is, geologically speaking, older than the Grand Canyon. Archeologists have unearthed small encampments dating back 10,000 years. More recently, in the 1700 and 1800's, the Souix Indians, whom inhabited the praries surrounding the Black Hills, considered them Sacred. With the influx of miners and settlers in the Gold Rush of 1876, the Hills were changed forever. Now, millions of visitors visit Mt. Rushmore annually and each August, hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts pour into Sturgis for the Annual Sturgis Bike Rally.