Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming (1984)

Rising 867 feet above the Wyoming plains like a massive wooden pillar turned to stone, Devils Tower defies easy explanation. It is an igneous monolith, a 50-million-year-old volcanic remnant that survived as the surrounding sedimentary rock eroded away. To the Lakota, Kiowa, and other Plains tribes, it is a sacred place, scarred by the claws of a great bear in ancient legend. In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt designated it America's first National Monument, forever changing how we protect places of natural and cultural significance. This handbook traces that story fully. It explores the geology that made the Tower possible, the ecology of the Ponderosa pine forests and prairie dog towns at its base, and the human histories woven through the region from indigenous presence to pioneer exploration. It offers practical guidance for hiking the trails and climbing the routes, but more importantly, it reveals why this place has drawn humans to it for thousands of years. Whether you're planning a visit, passing through on I-90, or simply curious about the landscape that inspired Close Encounters of the Third Kind, this book is your invitation to understand one of America's most mysterious and revered landscapes.