Devil’s Tower
On our family road trip across the northern states, our westernmost destination was Devil’s Tower.
Rising suddenly from the rolling prairie of northeastern Wyoming. The massive stone monolith looked unreal as we approached. This monument stands alone and detached from the surrounding hills.
We circled the base watching climbers inch their way up the vertical columns. This place holds deep spiritual meaning for many Native nations including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Crow and Arapaho. Many tribes refer to the formation as Bear Lodge and traditional stories continue to center around the site today.
Devils Tower was designated the first National Monument in the United States in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, under the newly passed Antiquities Act. This was a milestone moment in America’s conservation story.
From a geological standpoint, this formation is cooled magma later exposed by erosion, leaving behind the towering vertical columns that give the monument its distinctive appearance. Devils Tower plays a role in Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), where it became a mysterious meeting place between humans and extraterrestrials
Visiting Devils Tower combined a day of wonder, geology and spiritual significance.
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