Our road trip continued with a stop at Devils Tower, a magma extrusion from volcanic activity 50 million years ago. It was extruded into sedimentary rocks and as it cooled it contracted and fractured into columns. Land erosion over millions of years exposed it and today it rises 867 feet from its base, its top is 1.5 acres in size, the dismeter of its base is 1,000 feet. The Kiowa Indians believed that some small Indian girls were playing and a bear charged them, they huddled on a rock and prayed to be saved from the bear. The rock grew and the girls were borne into the sky, becoming the stars of the Pleiades. The Kiowa also believe the creases on the sides of the tower were made by the bear clawing trying to get the girls. There are many Indian legends about the tower. In 1906 U S President Teddy Roosevelt (next to George Washington on Mt Rushmore) declared the tower the first National Monument to protect it from commercialism. Experienced rock climbers come from all over the world to climb the tower. There are miles of hiking and walking trails with over 150 bird species, even magpies, plus wild animals to see. We are now in Montana and over the next week will see a lot of beautiful country, this is a big, beautiful land we live in.
Wonderful shot. I was there when I was a kid, I just remember it seemed weird that it is there all alone and no other mountains or big rocks around close.
