Devil's Tower

Shrouded in myth and legend, the Devil's Tower monolith stands tall in Crook County, Wyoming. It was declared the country's first national monument by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1906. Several Native American tribes including the Arapaho,Crow, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Lakota, and Shoshone had strong cultural ties to Devil's Tower long before the non-natives arrived. Although the exact cause of the formation is not certain, many believe it is the remains of a large volcano. The rocks rising upward are believed to be the remains of the melted rock coming to the surface. Over the years, the surround earth has eroded away leaving the harder intrusion as a reminder. The Natives have a much different story for its formation. The different tribes have different stories, but most of them involve children being chased by a giant bear. With no hope of escape the children dropped to their knees and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them and were lifted from harm's way with this giant rock rising from the ground. When the giant bear got to the rock it tried and tried to climb to the top, but the cliff was too steep. As a result the rock was marred by the claws of the giant bear.