Devils Tower

geology · Wyoming · rock formations · nature

Gigantic laccolithic butte. Devils Tower is made of igneous rock and rises 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River. It's so tall that its summit sits 5,112 feet above sea level.

Formed by cooled magma. A laccolithic butte forms when magma pushes up between layers of rock underground and then cools and hardens. The softer rocks around it slowly eroded away, leaving this amazing tower behind.

First national monument. Devils Tower was declared the first national monument in the United States in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. This honor started the entire system of protecting special natural places across America.

World-famous climbing spot. Rock climbers from all over the world come to Devils Tower to test their skills on its challenging vertical columns. The tower's cracks and formations make it one of the most exciting big wall climbs in North America.

Striped columnar rock. The tower's surface is covered with long, thin columns of rock that look like vertical stripes, which formed as the igneous rock cooled and cracked into these distinctive shapes.