Remember this from the 1977 “Close Encounters” movie?
Close up shot of the columnar structure. Each “column” is about 8 feet across!
The Devils Tower is a sacred site to Native Americans and is an NPS National
Monument. Located in the Black Hills of northeastern Wyoming, this remarkable geologic butte stands nearly 900 feet tall from it base to the top. The rock is igneous and was formed when the molten lava intruded into layers of sedimentary rocks. Those rocks weathered away, leaving the Devils Tower that we see today.
There is interesting history of both the geology of the tower, as well as the history of human involvement of the site. This was the first National Monument, so designated ten years before the National Park Service was founded. Study the Devils Tower website for details about the park, its history and current covid restrictions.
We visited Devils Tower back in 2015.
Roadtirement 
So it’s a Lava Throat? So fascinating!
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🙂 thanks for sharing this, I saw it when I was young, long before the Richard Dreyfus movie ❗️
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Bet the Tower chuckled at the movie when they made the exterior shoots. Most don’t appreciate how sacred that ground is
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Didn’t get to see it up close, but saw it from a friend’s house in SD. Maybe next time.
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It’s pretty spectacular from any distance!
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Thanks Yolanda!
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It’s like our Cabezon, which is over 1,100 feet from its base, but the Devil’s Tower has cleaner edges. Volcanic plugs are neat looking features and it is understandable why they would be considered sacred. There are a lot of small plugs sticking up in the Rio Puerco valley.
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The geology “out West” is so much more interesting (and visible) than ours here in Indiana: we’ve got sedimentary strata, some decent Paleozoic fossil beds, and not many exposed outcroppings.
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Now, this is something!
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Pictures do not do this feature of the land justice. Thanks for stopping by and visiting.
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Ah!
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I always loved Close Encounters but assumed the tower was a prop in the movie – We were planning a road trip to Wyoming/ Sth Dakota in 2014 – I just couldn’t believe it when I saw this on the map!!! Needless to say, it was included in the itinerary!!!
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Glad that you got to see the Devils Tower in person. It is a wonder to behold. Thanks for the visit and the comment you shared.
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Blast from the past! I so remember that movie, thanks for the images, C
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Last time I was there saw an abundance of climbers scaling the sides – think a 1/3rd of all my shots ended up having someone hanging off the rocks in it.
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I think I’d be disappointed if I went there and it was swarming with rock climbers. I hope they limit how many and where they can climb…
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Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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We really appreciate the reblog! Thank you sir.
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Seeing this place is on my bucket list.
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Most definitely worth a place on the bucket list! 😉
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I have friends who are long haul truck drivers who keep sharing photos of places. I told one the other day they really made me envious and are going to cause me to need a much bigger bucket.
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😂 👍A good problem to have!
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It was the site of the alien arrival in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
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Yep, it was
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I love Devil’s Tower! I wrote about this place too. Isn’t it an incredible sight to behind? So glad you visited. 🙂
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Yes, incredible is a very appropriate description! Thanks for stopping by. 😉
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Sure thing! Happy trails! Someday….
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love this! Thanks for sharing!
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It is our pleasure to share our adventures. Thanks for visiting us.
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Indeed and you’re most welcome!
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Great, really new information that’s !???? give many questions and requests!?
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Thanks for the visit and the comment.
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I’ve heard of this one.
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We want to visit this sight. Reminds us of the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland without the Atlantic Ocean.
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Your site in Northern Ireland sounds great
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Devil’s Tower is on your list. Reminds us of Giant’s Causeway without the Atlantic Ocean
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