 The Devils Tower,
Wyoming
The nation's first National Monument
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Devils Tower History Facts: FAQ's
(Frequently asked Questions)
Fast, fun facts about the Devils Tower and its history
for kids:
Where is the Devils Tower? Its location is
in the Black Hills near Hulett and Sundance,
Crook County, northeastern Wyoming
Why is it called the Devils Tower? the
interpreter for Colonel Richard Irving
Dodge's expedition misinterpreted the Native
American name to mean "Bad God's Tower",
which was later shortened to the Devil's
Tower
How was it formed? Geology: From molten rock
(magma or cooled lava) forced upwards from
deep within the earth
What is on top of the Devils Tower?
Vegetation, chipmunks and small rodents are
found on top
What movie was the Devils Tower in? The 1977
movie 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
starring Richard Dreyfuss
How tall is the Devils Tower? It is 867 feet
from its base to the summit and takes 4 to
six hours to climb
How far is it around the Tower? The
circumference at the base is 1 mile.
Devils Tower Facts and Info for kids: Devils Tower Legend
According to Native American Indian legend, the Devils
Tower was created when six young girls of the tribe were picking
flowers in the forest when they were chased by terrifying bears. In
order to save their lives of the young Sioux girls, the Great Spirit
lifted the ground and formed the giant rock underneath their feet.
The furious bears tried to climb the rock and left their scratch
marks along the side of the monument. The legend continued and tells
of an eagle lifting the girls off the monument and took them back to
the safety of their village.
Devils Tower Facts and Info for kids: Brief Facts for kids via the
Fact Sheet
Interesting description and brief facts about the Devils Tower are
detailed in the following Fact Sheet. The Devils Tower Facts are
presented in a factual sequence consisting of a series of short
facts providing a simple method of relating the interesting history,
geology and information about the Devils Tower.
Devils Tower
Facts for Kids
Devils Tower Fact 1:
The awe-inspiring monument is
located in the State of Wyoming, near the Belle Fourche
River in Crook County
Devils Tower Fact 2:
What is it made of? Geology: It is made of
phonolite porphyry and the monument is believed to be
the remnant of a volcanic neck.
● Others believe the phonolite
porphyry is the remnant of a laccolith (a
dome-shaped, irregular formation of intrusive
igneous rock found between layers of sedimentary
rock.
● ● Igneous rock is formed
through the cooling and solidification of magma
or lava
● ● Sedimentary rock is
formed by the deposition of material at the
Earth's surface
Devils Tower Fact 3:
The Devils Tower is 867 feet from its base
to the summit
Devils Tower Fact 4:
It towers above the Fourche River and stands
as the most widely recognized landmark of the northern
Great Plains.
Devils Tower Fact 5:
Colors: The colors of the shale,
siltstone and sandstone range from red, yellow,
gray, and green. Parts of the slopes are colored with
white gypsum
Devils Tower Fact 6:
The Monument's boundary encloses an
area of 1,347 acres
Devils Tower Fact 7:
Elevation: The summit of the Devils
Tower is 1,560 m (5,117 ft) above sea level
Devils Tower Fact 8:
The top of the monument measures 55 m
(180 ft) from east to west and 91 m (300 ft) from north
to south and rises about 386 m (1,267 ft) above the
Belle Fourche River
Devils Tower Fact 9:
When was the Devils Tower formed? Geology:
Erosion has removed the Paleozoic and Mesozoic rock
layers from the central dome, exposing Precambrian rocks
that make up the core of the uplift. The ages of periods
are as follows:● The Precambrian Era is 4540 to 544
million years ago
● The Paleozoic Era is 542 To 251 million years ago
● The Mesozoic Era is 251 To 65.5 million years ago
Devils Tower Fact
10: The historic site attracts about
500,000 visitors and tourists every year - about 1% are
brave enough to make the climb
Devils Tower Fact
11: The Devils Tower Monument is a
popular climbing destination. The first successful rock
climb, using mountaineering techniques, was in 1937
Devils Tower Fact
12: The Devils Tower is now a famous site
for crack climbing. There are over 200 named routes, the
most famous being the Durrance Route.
Devils Tower Fact
13: The Durrance Route is named after
Jack Durrance who led a group of climbers to the top in
1941 to rescue George Hopkins, who had parachuted onto
the summit as a stunt
Devils Tower Fact 14:
The National Park Service warns
climbers that they might encounter hazards such as
snakes, poison ivy, falcon attacks, spiny plants, wasps
and falling rocks.
Devils Tower Fact
15: It is illegal to excavate, relocate,
and/or remove fossils from the Devils Tower monument.
Over 600 metal bolts had been embedded in the rock by
climbers, some climbing ropes have been left hanging. In
1995 the fixture of new bolts was banned, although
replacement of existing bolts and fixed pitons are still
allowed
Devils Tower Fact 16:
Due to its religious and cultural
significance to Native American Indians a voluntary rock
climbing closure is in effect every June.
Devils Tower
Fact 17: The Movie: 'Close Encounters of the
Third Kind' was the movie that strongly featured the
Devils Tower in its plot:
● The movie was released in
1977
● 'Close Encounters of
the Third Kind' was written and directed by Steven
Spielberg
● The movie starred Richard
Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon and Teri Garr
● In December 2007, the movie
was selected by the United States Library of
Congress for preservation in the National Film
Registry and deemed as "culturally, historically, or
aesthetically significant"
● In American polls Close
Encounters has been voted the 64th greatest movie of
all time
Continued...
Devils Tower
Facts for Kids
Devils Tower Facts
The info about the Devils Tower provides interesting facts and
important information about this important event that occured during the presidency of the 26th President of the United States of America.
Devils Tower
Facts for Kids
Devils Tower
Fact 18:
History: The first inhabitants of the area date back
3000 to 4000 years although Paleo-Indians were thought
to have lived in the area as far back as 10,000 years
Devils Tower
Fact 19:
History: Native
American Indian tribes have lived in the region for
nearly 1000 years
Devils Tower Fact
20:
History: The monument
is sacred to many Native American Plains Indian tribes
including the Assiniboine, Kiowa, Sioux, Blackfeet,
Salish, Cheyenne, Crow, Shoshone, Arapaho and Chippewa.
Devils Tower Fact
21: The monument features strongly in the
creation history of many Native American tribes
Devils Tower Fact
22: The monument is sacred to many Native
American Plains Indian tribes including the Assiniboine,
Kiowa, Sioux, Blackfeet, Salish, Cheyenne, Crow,
Shoshone, Arapaho and Chippewa.
● The Lakota Sioux
traditionally held their sacred Sun Dance at Devils
Tower around the summer solstice
● Vision Quests were often
undertaken in this sacred place
● Sacred fasting rituals and
healing ceremonies were also conducted
● Prayer offerings, funerals
and sweat lodge ceremonies also took place near the
sacred site
Devils Tower Fact
23:
History: In 1875,
Colonel Richard Dodge led a U.S. Geological Survey
expedition to the area. His interpreter misunderstood
the Native American’s description of the feature and
translated it as “Bad God’s Tower.”
Devils Tower
Fact 24:
History:
In
1890 the
Conservation
Movement advocated the establishment of state parks, wildlife refuges and national
monuments during the Progressive Era.
Devils Tower
Fact 25:
History: In 1893, William Rogers and Willard Ripley
climbed to the top of the tower using 30 inch wooden
stakes that they had hammered into a ontinuous crack
that led to the summit. Portions of the stake ladder
made by William Rogers and Willard Ripley are still
visible from the Tower Trail
Devils Tower
Fact 26:
History: In 1901 Theodore Roosevelt,
who was
an ardent conservationist, became President of
the United States and
was instrumental in protecting
natural features of America
Devils Tower
Fact 27:
History:
In 1905: Gifford Pinchot (1865–1946),
was appointed the first chief of the U.S. Forest
Service, who believed that natural resources should be
used to provide the "greatest good for the greatest
number of people."
Devils Tower
Fact 28:
History: In 1906: President Roosevelt signed
legislation for
the
National Monuments Act ( Antiquities Act) that authorized the
President to establish national monuments for the
preservation of historic, prehistoric, and scientific
interest
Devils Tower
Fact 29:
History:
On September 24, 1906 the Devils Tower
was proclaimed as the nation's first National Monument.
Devils Tower
Fact 30:
History: When the presidential proclamation was made
establishing Devils Tower and published, the apostrophe
was unintentionally dropped from the word 'Devil’s' and
this clerical error was never officially corrected.
Devils Tower
Fact 31:
History: In 1917 the first road was built to the
monument
Devils Tower
Fact 32:
History: On August 19, 1994 six year old Eric Peterson
became the youngest person to climb the Devils Tower
Devils Tower
Facts for Kids
Devils Tower Facts for kids - President Theodore Roosevelt Video
The article on the
Devils Tower Facts provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 26th American President whose presidency spanned from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909.
Devils Tower Facts
●
Facts about the Devils Tower for kids and schools
●
Devils Tower Facts - history and geology
●
The Devils Tower Facts and interesting info
● Devils Tower Facts, Legend and movie
●
Fast, fun facts about the Devils Tower Facts
●
Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Theodore Roosevelt
●
Theodore Roosevelt Presidency and
Devils Tower Facts for schools,
homework, kids and children |
