Devils Tower was our first national monument, proclaimed so by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1906.
Folklore surrounds the monument, the most popular being that six Sioux girls were picking flowers when they were chased by bears. Feeling sorry for them, the Great Spirit raised the ground beneath the girls. The bears tried to climb the rock, but fell off, leaving their scratch marks on the sides.
Geologists can't completely agree on how the tower was formed, but they do agree that it did not protrude out of the ground, but rather was uncovered as softer sedimentary rock eroded away, leaving the harder igneous rock as we see it today.
Climbers have been ascending the tower for centuries, and hundreds climb each summer. However, because the tower is sacred ground to several American Indian tribes, a voluntary climbing ban was set for the month of June when tribal ceremonies occur around the tower.
Click a link below to visit another Wyoming page.
Or, choose a destination below.
Please visit some of my other travel locations. Feel free to email me if you have questions or comments.
BY CITY:Boston | Carson City | Coeur d'Alene, ID | Colorado Springs | Duluth, MN | Durango, CO | Fort Benton, MT | Galveston, TX | Independence, MO | Juliette, GA | Leadville, CO | Morro Bay, CA | New York City | Sacramento | San Diego | Savannah | Seattle | Sedona, AZ | St. Louis | Stillwater, MN | Tombstone| Tucson | Washington, D.C.
BY STATE: Alaska | Arizona | California | Colorado | Georgia | Idaho | Maine | Michigan | Minnesota | Montana | Nevada | New Mexico | North Carolina | Oregon | South Dakota| Texas | Utah | Washington | Wyoming
BY REGIONS, LANDMARKS AND NATL PARKS, FORESTS AND MONUMENTS: the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest | Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake | Arches NP | the Badlands | Big Sur | Bighorn Canyon | the Biltmore Estate | the Black Hills | Blue Ridge Parkway | Bodega Bay | Bridges of Madison County | Bryce Canyon | Canyon de Chelly | Canyonlands NP | Death Valley | Devils Tower| Garden of the Gods | Glacier NP | the Grand Canyon | the Grand Tetons | the Great Sand Dunes NP | Gulf Shores, AL | the Hearst Castle | Hoover Dam | Hovenweep NM | In search of Barns and Bridges | Kure Beach | Lake Powell | Lake Tahoe | Little Bighorn Battlefield | Mackinac Island | Martha's Vineyard | Medicine Bow NF | Mesa Verde NP | Monterey Bay | Monument Valley | Mount Rainier | Mount Rushmore | Mount St. Helens | Napa Valley | Natural Bridges NM | Niagara Falls | OK City (bombing) NM | the Olympic Peninsula | Organ Pipe Cactus NM | the Outer Banks | the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert | Pictured Rocks NL | Point Reyes Natl Seashore | Rocky Mtn NP | the Royal Gorge | Saguaro NP | Shenandoah Valley | Sleeping Bear Dunes NL | the Sonoma Coast | Sunset Crater NM | Texas Hill Country | Tonto NM | Tonto Natural Bridge | Tybee Island | Valley of Fire | the Vermillion Cliffs | White Mountains NF | Yellowstone NP | Yosemite NP | Zion NP
OUTSIDE THE U.S.: Austria | Budapest, Hungary | Canada | Costa Rica | East Africa | Europe, here and there | France | Germany | Greece | Italy | Morocco | the Netherlands | Portugal | Puerto Peñasco, Mexico | Russia | Scotland | Spain | Switzerland | Tunisia | Turkey
OTHER: HOME | My Favorites | the Andreas family, Moab | Vilseck DoDDS teachers' reunions | Madi's Page
All images within 'The Wandering Chick' Web site are copyright protected. They may not be downloaded or otherwise copied.