US Park Info.com: Devil's Tower National Monument
Devil's Tower towers nearly 1300 feet (1267 to be exact) over the surrounding
terrain in Eastern Wyoming. The park contains 1347 acres and is a combination of woodlands and prairies. You'll find a plethora of animals, including the ever so cute Prairie Dog.
Devil's Tower became the first National Monumnent when it was designated
by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906.
The park area is considered sacred to nearby American Indians, and it is a place
for prayer and renewal.
Basic Information for Devil's Tower National Monument
Operating Hours for Devil's Tower National Monument
Devils Tower National Monument is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Visitor Center is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Beginning Sunday April 23, the Visitor Center will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The campground is open from April through October.
How to Get to Devil's Tower National Monument
Closest Airport to Devil's Tower National Monument - Nearest commercial airports to Devil's Tower National Monument are at Gillette, WY and Rapid City, SD
How to Drive to Devil's Tower National Monument - Visitors travelling east on I-90 exit at Moorcroft, WY. Visitors travelling west on I-90 exit at Sundance, WY, take 14 north to 24, take 24 north to Devils Tower.
Devil's Tower National Monument Weather & Climate
Cold winters, snow not unusual. Cool rainy springs. Warm, sometimes hot summers with some thunderstorms. Mild to cool falls.
Accessibility at Devil's Tower National Monument
Facilities at the picnic area, campground, amphitheatre and administration building are accessible. The Visitor Center is accessible, but the restrooms are not. Accessible restrooms are located next door in the Ranger Office building. Interpretive talks in front of the Visitor Center are handicap accessible. Trails are steep and narrow.
Where to Stay at Devil's Tower National Park
Camping at Devil's Tower National Monument
Devil's Tower Campground
Open From Spring to Fall
The 50-site campground at Devils Tower is nestled along an oxbow bend in the Belle Fourche River. Sites can accomodate tents or RVs up to 35 feet in length. The campground is operated on a first come/first serve basis. There is a $12.00 per site, per day camping fee. Three group sites are available at $2.00 per person, with a minimum of 6 persons per site.Golden Age/Access discounts (1/2 price) apply to camping fees. Handicap campsites are available. Hookups, showers, and dump station are NOT available. Drinking water and handicap-accessible restroom facilities are located in the campground and at the picnic area.
What to Do at Devil's Tower National Monument
Activities at Devil's Tower National Monument
The Devils Tower Visitor Center is located about three miles from the entrance of the monument. Interpretive exhibits explain the geologic, natural and cultural history of the area. The Visitor Center staff provide information about climbing and trail conditions and park activities. The Devils Tower Natural History Association Bookstore is located in the Visitor Center. It is stocked with publications and educational items about geology, history, and climbing for children and adults.
There are 7 miles of hiking trails at Devils Tower National Monument. The most popular is the 1.3 mile paved Tower Trails that circles Devils Tower itself. Other, longer trails traverse tranquil forests and meadows and afford different view of Devils Tower. Please, see the Trail Guide and Park Map. And, don't forget, hiking is a great time to checkout the wildlife
Rock climbing at Devils Tower is a popular recreational sport. The tower is acclaimed as one of the premier crack climbing areas in North America and boasts a colorful 100-year climbing history. The non-climbing visitor is encouraged to spend a moment watching the climbers.
Geology of Devils Tower
Devils Tower rises above the surrounding grassland and Ponderosa pine forests like a rocky sentinel. Northern Plains tribes worshipped at this remarkable geologic formation long before white men wandered into the West, and fur trappers, explorers, and settlers alike were awed by the Tower's majesty. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt established Devils Tower as our nation's first national monument. Many have gazed at the Tower and wondered, "How did this amazing formation get here? How did it form?"
THE STAGE IS SET
Most of the landscape surrounding Devils Tower is composed of sedimentary rocks. These are rocks which are formed from broken or dissolved fragments of other rocks and are usually deposited by water or wind. The oldest rocks visible in Devils Tower National Monument were laid down in a shallow sea during the Triassic time, 225 to 195 million years ago. This dark red sandstone and maroon siltstone, interbedded with shale, can be seen along the Belle Fourche River. Oxidation of iron minerals causes the redness of the rocks. This rock layer is known as the Spearfish formation. Above the Spearfish formation is a thin band of white gypsum, called the Gypsum Spring formation. This layer of gypsum was deposited during the Jurassic time, 195 to 136 million years ago. Seas retreated and returned. Climates changed and changed again. Gray-green shales (deposited in low-oxygen environments such as marshes) were interbedded with fine-grained sandstones, limestones, and sometimes thin beds of red mudstone. This composition, called the Stockade Beaver member, is part of the Sundance formation. The Hulett Sandstone member, also part of the Sundance formation, is composed of yellow fine-grained sandstone. Resistant to weathering, it forms the nearly vertical cliffs which encircle the Tower itself. Seas again retreated and advanced. Landforms were eroded; new sediments were deposited. About 65 million years ago, during the Tertiary time, pressures within the earth climaxed, uplifting the Rocky Mountains and the Black Hills. Molten magma welled up toward the surface of the earth, intruding into already-existing sedimentary rock layers.
THE TOWER IS FORMED: AN ONGOING DEBATE
Geologists agree that Devils Tower was formed by the intrusion (the forcible entry of molten rock into or between other rock formations) of igneous material. What they cannot agree upon is how, exactly, that process took place!
Numerous theories have evolved since the official discovery of Devils Tower. Geologists Carpenter and Russell studied Devils Tower in the late 1800s and came to the conclusion that the Tower was indeed formed by an igneous intrusion. Later geologists searched for further explanations.
In 1907, scientists Darton and O'Hara decided that Devils Tower must be an eroded remnant of a laccolith. A laccolith is a large mass of igneous rock which is intruded through sedimentary rock beds but does not actually reach the surface, producing a rounded bulge in the sedimentary layers above. This theory was quite popular in the early 1900s since numerous studies had earlier been done on a number of laccoliths in the Southwest.
Other theories have suggested that Devils Tower is a volcanic plug or that it is the neck of an extinct volcano (an unlikely theory, for there is no evidence of volcanic activity - volcanic ash, lava flows, or volcanic debris - anywhere in the surrounding countryside)!
No one yet has a definite answer as to how exactly Devils Tower was formed - other than that it was an igneous intrusion into the sedimentary layers above and that the molten rock comprising the Tower did not surface.
In any case, geologists agree, the igneous material intruded and then cooled as phonolite porphyry, a light to dark-gray or greenish-gray igneous rock with conspicuous crystals of white feldspar. As the lava cooled, hexagonal (and sometimes 4-, 5-, and 7-sided) columns formed. As the columns continued to cool, vertical cracks developed as the columns shrank horizontally in volume.
THE TOWER IS UNCOVERED
Until erosion began its relentless work, Devils Tower was not visible above the overlying sedimentary rocks. But the forces of erosion - particularly that of water - began to wear away the sandstones and shales. The much harder igneous rock survived the onslaught of erosional forces, and the gray columns of Devils Tower began to appear above the surrounding landscape.
As rain and snow continue to erode the sedimentary rocks surrounding the Tower's base, and the Belle Fourche River carries away the debris, more of Devils Tower will be exposed. But at the same time, the Tower itself is slowly being eroded. Rocks are continually breaking off and falling from the steep walls. Rarely do entire columns fall, but on remote occasions, they do. Piles of rubble - broken columns, boulders, small rocks, and stones - lie at the base of the Tower, indicating that it was, at some time in the past, larger than it is today.
Eventually, at some time far in the future, even Devils Tower itself will be eroded away!
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