Devil's Tower National Monument

If Devil's Tower were known to ancient world, it would have been proclaimed to be a Wonder of the World, even if it is not a creation of human hands. It rises in front of you so unexpectedly, that one can hardly believe that it is actually real. Though you cannot see it till you are almost there - the mountain is hidden among the hills. Native Americans regarded this area as a holy place with a great power. But there is no devil in the Indian religion, and current name was given by new settlers.

Several tribes, which lived in this area had similar legends on the origin of the Tower. The story says, that a gigantic bear followed the tribal members, and they had nothing left that to ask a Great Spirit to save them. The Spirit lifted the rock, they we standing on, above the rich of the bear. Infuriated animal, seeing its escaping pray, tried to rich them, but only left huge marks of its claws. The end of this story is not clear - did the Spirit help the people to get down from the 300 meter high tower? Or they died there from hunger?

In accordance with this legend, Indians called the mountain Mao Tipi - Bear Lodge. When in 1975 new settlers came here urged by the gold-rush, Indians tried to scare them off, saying that this is the place, where devil lives. But it did not help.

To this site, Native American people come every year, especially in June, for observance of spiritual rituals. Most notable of the rituals is the Sun Dance observed near the time of the Summer Solstice. During this time in June there is a highly controversial voluntary ban on climbing on the Tower.

Geologists have their reasons for disbelieving the Native American legend. They think, that the mountain appeared as a result of magma coming close to the surface over 60 millions years ago. The characteristic furrowed columns are the result of contraction, which occurred during the cooling of the magma under the ground. Millions years of erosion uncovered the structure. Nowadays the Tower rises 867 feet from its base, and 1267 feet above the river.

Looking at the rock columns on the Tower's sides, it seems that the structure is very fragile. However, geological estimates say, that the last "column" broke off the mountain approximately ten thousands years ago…

Top of the Tower has a surface of approximately six thousand square meters, and is not as flat as it seems from the ground. Climbers report, that not only birds, but some mammals live there! Among the animals, which were seen there, they name chipmunks, wood rats and even snakes. It is hard to say, how exactly the animals get to the top. One of the hypotheses suggests, they were dropped by predatory birds. But some climbers have reported seeing snakes and rodents working their way up fissures.

In 1906 Devil's Tower became nation's first National Monument. Every year more then five hundred thousands tourists come here to see the nature's strange creation.

Steven Spielberg used Devil's Tower in his Sci-Fi movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as a place chosen by aliens for contact with our civilization. And looking at the Tower, it is very easy to understand why…

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Last updated: Monday, September 24, 2001