Devils Tower National Monument, National monument in Crook County, United States.
Devils Tower is a laccolithic butte of phonolite porphyry rising 867 ft (264 m) from base to summit, with a diameter of nearly 150 m. Its pale tan and grey face is cut by closely spaced vertical columns, mostly hexagonal, up to 6.1 m wide and 180 m tall, flaring at the base above a slope of scattered evergreen trees.
Devils Tower was proclaimed the first United States national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt on September 24, 1906, under the Antiquities Act, with a boundary enclosing 1,347 acres (545 ha). The monument is managed by the National Park Service. In 2005 and again in 2014, proposals to rename it Bear Lodge National Historic Landmark were submitted but not adopted.
The Kiowa call the tower Tso-aa, "Tree Rock", and tell of seven girls saved from bears when the rock rose beneath them; the claw marks are read in its columns. A 1993 study under NAGPRA recorded 21 peoples with cultural ties to the site, and the Cheyenne name Matȟó Thípila means Bear Lodge.
The site is easy to explore on foot with several hiking paths available, and a paved trail circles the base for easier access. Plan your visit for spring or fall when temperatures are moderate and crowds tend to be smaller.
The first recorded ascent to the summit happened in 1893 when two local ranchers built a wooden ladder to reach the top. This early climb remains a noteworthy part of the site's history and demonstrates the resourcefulness of early explorers.
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