MAY 08, 2016
While we stayed in Spearfish, we also took a short trip to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower. A friend in Austin had recommended that we see this and I questioned whether it would be worth the two hour trip out of our way.
While we stayed in Spearfish, we also took a short trip to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower. A friend in Austin had recommended that we see this and I questioned whether it would be worth the two hour trip out of our way.
“WOW!” I found
it amazing! Like many places, this is one of those that you cannot
truly appreciate until you see it for yourself. Unfortunately, we
did not make it to the visitor's center early enough to get to check
it all out but they have a very nice interpretive trail that goes all
the way around the monument.
And you should
definitely go all the way around. Each side looks a little
different.
And the geology of
it is so interesting. It was formed by magma that cooled underground
and then was later exposed by erosion. And when the magma cooled, it
contracted into hexagonal columns separated by vertical cracks. When
those columns erode away or fall off, they leave that scratch-like
appearance down the sides of the monument.
The natives tell a
story about some children who climbed up there trying to escape from
giant bear and the scratch marks down the side are from the bear's
claws in his attempt to get them.
It is also
interesting that the monument is still growing (due to erosion from
the Belle Fourche River) but of course the top is slowly eroding away
as well. Currently it stands at 867 feet.
So just in case you
couldn't tell, it was DEFINITELY worth a two-hour drive! ;)
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