Travel Guide Devil’s Tower National Monument

The Devil's Tower is located on an overflowing plateau of the Belle Forche Valley, which is built in the background between colorful sandstone landings and trees. The road that climbs up to it offers beautiful panoramas, but the attention is diverted immediately after discovering the famous Devil Tower. Without screaming, the natural monolith stands proudly from the top of its 380 meters seemingly coming from nowhere. You may have seen photos of the site, but emotion remains intact when you get closer to it and you can only be fascinated by this non-standard concretion with vertical and perfectly parallel stripes. Its formation was explained by the rise of magmatic rocks during the creation of the Rockies solidified by vertical flows in the middle of sedimentary rocks. With erosion, sedimentary rocks disappeared leaving this harder nucleus to the middle of the valley.The Amerindians who lived in the valley all have a different version of Devil's Tower, but it is in the Lakota, Cheyenne, Crows or Arapahoes, most legends involve a bear that would have striped from its claws the monolith. The most widespread is the two girls who were attacked by bears and helped by spirits. The gods would then have raised the rock of the soil and in their fall bears would have engraved the perennial mark on the tower. Still, the place has always been and remains a sacred site for natives. You may see offerings along the Tower Trail Trail, make sure you leave them intact. June is particularly rich in ceremonies and rituals. The site was the first national monument created by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. In 2005, a project to recognize Indian heritage included the change of name in Bear Lodge National Historic Landmark, Bear Lodge being the name commonly given to Aboriginal training. The project was rejected by Republicans because of the negative consequences of a change in tourism.The site visit does not take long but it is no less spectacular. If you have the opportunity, spend the night on the spot to enjoy a bit of the surrealist setting and observe the stars at night.