View allAll Photos Tagged devilstowernationalmonument
The Kiowa call it Tso-i-e, "Rock Tree." They have a story, which I won't recount here, involving a bear, tree, five children, and Tso-i-e.
I brought my students here in 2016, hoping they would see a good sunrise. This was what they got.
I'm quite busy today trying to get ready for my son to have some friends over. I'll try to get to my contacts & others who comment me as much as possible. I hope you all have a great day!
Best Viewed on B l a c k M a g i c (Press F11 for "full-screen view")
Devils Tower is an astounding geologic feature in northeastern Wyoming that protrudes out of the prairie surrounding the Black Hills. It was proclaimed as the nation's first national monument in 1906.
Day 7 - Making our way back across Wyoming to Yellowstone, finally had an opportunity to see the Devil's Tower. We got there just in time before some thundershowers settled in.
What an alien structure. Excuse my layman's explanation, but the tower formed entirely underground, as magma flowed up into the sedimentary rock above, that sedimentary rock then eroded over time, leaving the tower, made up of hexagonal columns of igneous rock. Some of those columns have been impacted by erosion too, breaking and toppling, creating what is an oddly greenish tower, standing all alone.
Some processing of course on the image. Cell phone pic.
After doing some initial work in Capture NX2 for saturation, brightness, and contrast, I exported a TIFF image to work in Color Efex Pro 4. It was then that I ran across a favorite recipe that seemed to really compliment the late afternoon light, adding those warm colors, shadows, and light that comes around sunset.
Dawn arrives at Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming.
My students, to their credit, chose to wake up for it.
A parking lot view that pretty much anyone stopping at this national monument couldn't help but be drawn in! And even though I'd seen similar images captured from other photographers before heading up to the Dakotas and Wyoming, it's hard not to just stand and absorb the view with this butte that seemingly rises to the skies above. So using the nearby trees, I tried to compliment that look upward and use the blues of the skies above as a color compliment for the final image.
In 1906 Devils Tower was designated as the first U.S. National Monument in recognition of its scientific value. It formed around 50 to 60 million years ago through a process known as columnar jointing. At the time, tectonic forces in western North America were peaking, uplifting the Rocky Mountains and the Black Hills, which led to magma intrusions into the existing sedimentary rock layers closer to the surface of the earth. As the molten rock cooled it began to solidify and contract from the top down. The contraction stresses resulted in a pattern of long vertical cracks. When those stresses were evenly distributed cracks tended to form in a hexagonal pattern resulting in a series of six-sided stone columns. When the stresses were asymmetrical the columns tended to be five-sided or seven-sided. Devils Tower has mostly six-sided columns, but there are some fives.
When the Devils Tower was formed geologist believe it was a couple of miles below the earth’s surface. In the millions of years since, erosion of the relatively soft sedimentary rock surrounding the tower gradually exposed the formation which now stands 1267 feet above the surrounding plains.
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, USA. Elevation: 3,951ft. August 6, 2019.
An image I captured while walking the Joyner Ridge Trail in Devils Tower National Monument with a view looking to the south. I've read from different articles on photography web sites about how one should always add images with a portrait orientation to one's portfolio as magazine and related publications often prefer that for licensing. Here I had a chance for this with Devils Tower (Bear Lodge) and how it rose directly to my front. I was then able to use the hillside to bring the eroded butte even higher with the blue skies around for the captured image.
An idea for an image I got while researching from other photographers on places to visit and hike while at Devils Tower National Monument. This was a roadside stop on my way to walk the Joyner Ridge Trail just up the road and a view looking to the southeast.
With the use of a Polarization CEP filter in Capture NX2, I felt I was able to have that better highlight the feel of clouds seemingly floating on by...
This image was captured while walking the Red Beds Trail in Devils Tower National Monument with a view looking to the southwest. What drew me into this setting wasn't just the forest of trees and the prairie grasses or even blue skies, it was just a variety of colors present. Nearby was a forest that had hues of greens and yellows and a few spots of even some reds. Above that were blues skies and whites of clouds. I finished up post-processing work in Capture NX2 by adding a few CEP filters (Low Key, Polarization and Graduated Neutral Density) for the final image.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Tower
Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte) is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises 1,267 feet (386 m) above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet (265 m) from summit to base. The summit is 5,112 feet (1,559 m) above sea level.
Devils Tower was the first United States national monument, established on September 24, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The monument's boundary encloses an area of 1,347 acres (545 ha).
Source: www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm
Many People, Many Stories, One Place
The Tower is an astounding geologic feature that protrudes out of the prairie surrounding the Black Hills. It is considered sacred by Northern Plains Indians and indigenous people. Hundreds of parallel cracks make it one of the finest crack climbing areas in North America. Devils Tower entices us to learn more, explore more and define our place in the natural and cultural world.
Source: www.blackhillsbadlands.com/parks-monuments/devils-tower-n...
Devils Tower National Monument, a unique and striking geologic wonder steeped in Native American legend, is a modern-day national park and climbers' challenge. Devils Tower sits across the state line in northeast Wyoming. The Tower is a solitary, stump-shaped granite formation that looms 1,267 feet above the tree-lined Belle Fourche River Valley, like a skyscraper in the country. Once hidden below the earth’s surface, erosion has stripped away the softer rock layers revealing the Tower.
The two-square-mile park surrounding the tower was proclaimed the nation’s first national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. The park is covered with pine forests, woodlands, and grasslands. While visiting the park you are bound to see deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife. The mountain’s markings are the basis for Native American legend. One legend has it that a giant bear clawed the grooves into the mountainside while chasing several young Indian maidens. Known by several northern plains tribes as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site of worship for many American Indians. Devils Tower is also remembered as the movie location for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
The stone pillar is about 1,000 feet in diameter at the bottom and 275 feet at the top and that makes it the premier rock climbing challenge in the Black Hills. Hikers enjoy the Monument’s trails. The 1.25-mile Tower Trail encircles the base. This self-guided hike offers close-up views of the forest and wildlife, not to mention spectacular views of the Tower itself. The Red Beds Trail covers a much wider three-mile loop around the tower.
Source: travelwyoming.com/places-to-go/destinations/national-park...
While America’s first national monument garnered significant attention as the backdrop to the 1977 Stephen Spielberg movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the tower is sacred to Northern Plains Indian tribes and the Black Hills region Kiowa Tribe. With oral storytelling and a history that dates back thousands of years, today, American Indian tribes continue to hold sacred ceremonies at the tower, including sweat lodges and sun dances. There is more to this monument than its rich history. You can stop at the visitor’s center to learn about one of the ranger-led programs, night sky viewing, hiking and even climbing to the top of Devils Tower. If one day isn’t enough to explore this unforgettable area, bring your camping gear to stay within the monument, or stay just outside or in accommodations at one of the nearby towns.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(Wyoming) "وايومنغ" "怀俄明州" "व्योमिंग" "ワイオミング州" "와이오밍" "Вайоминг"
(Devils Tower National Monument) "النصب التذكاري الوطني لبرج الشياطين" "魔鬼塔国家纪念碑" "डेविल्स टॉवर राष्ट्रीय स्मारक" "デビルズタワー国定公園" "데빌스 타워 국립천연기념물" "Национальный монумент «Башня дьявола»" "Monumento Nacional Torre del Diablo"
A bucket list item for awhile now just got checked off. The best part was when we got to the trail there was only one car in the parking lot. Winter road trips rock!!
As I drove along Wyoming Highway 24, I'd see off and on views of this famous butte. Needless to say, it was hard not to just stop and capture another image, but I wanted to get to the national monument to explore and walk around. Here I stopped next to some farmland and used that and the surrounding hills to add this pedestal or base like setting to it. I finished up post-processing work in Capture NX2 by adding a few CEP filters (Low Key, Polarization and Graduated Neutral Density) and some minimal cloning out of farm equipment for the final image.
The first US national monument to be established was Devils Tower in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, a little over 1300 acres that include the 867-foot butte in Crook County, Wyoming. Spielberg's movie (Close Encounters of the Third Kind) was largely filmed here, giving the geological wonder additional attention in the late 1970's, but it's been held sacred by several native American tribes for much of known history. Rock climbing is common here (permits are required by the National Park Service and no overnight camping is allowed upon the summit), including free climbing and traditional climbing techniques. The first recorded climb was by local ranchers Willard Ripley and William Rogers, July 4, 1893 and the remnants of wooden pegs/ladder they used in one of the crevices are still visible to this day, the upper reaches of which were restored in 1972 (listed in the National Register of Historic Places, along with the CCC-built entrance road and several of the NPS buildings at the monument). Hundreds climb various routes on the Tower successfully every year but it has claimed seven lives over its history, the latest of which was September 2024.
The surrounding forest and meadows are home to a variety of wildlife and birds, for I've been sufficiently fortunate to have seen many of the species that reside here, including white-tailed and mule deer, prairie dogs and a variety of other rodents such as squirrels and chipmunks, raccoons, mink, bald eagles and a wide variety of songbirds.
This is just another "cliche" image of the formation that I took last February (2-27-2025) while hiking around the Tower Trail that encircles the base, for it's been shot from every imaginable angle. It was quite peaceful, for the ice and snow that was still melting away kept the slick trail relatively quiet. Cliche or not, I still have a fascination with the Tower and it is easy to see why the Native American Indians that inhabited this region continue to hold it sacred to this day.
After stretching one's legs after a long drive, I noticed myself and pretty much everyone else doing the same thing as we soaked in this view at the famous butte that rises above all the Ponderosa Pines I was standing nearby.
I couldn't complete my visit to Devil's Tower without a few black-and-whites. This choice was made for me here by the clouds. This is a spectacular place to chase light, both in b/w and in color (particularly at sunset). Don't pass by on I-90 without a detour to our nation's first national monument.
Panoramic view of the Devils Tower National Monument at the cusp of golden hour.
UPDATE: Featured on Explore for June 30, 2022.
Devil's Tower National Monument
Finally decided to go somewhere this year .... this was a bucket list item. I lucked out with a great sky before the snow and clouds took over.
This image was captured while walking the Red Beds Trail in Devils Tower National Monument with a view looking to the northwest.
- www.kevin-palmer.com - The Belle Fourche River flows alongside Devils Tower National Monument and the KOA campground.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Tower
Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte) is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises 1,267 feet (386 m) above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet (265 m) from summit to base. The summit is 5,112 feet (1,559 m) above sea level.
Devils Tower was the first United States national monument, established on September 24, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The monument's boundary encloses an area of 1,347 acres (545 ha).
Source: www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm
Many People, Many Stories, One Place
The Tower is an astounding geologic feature that protrudes out of the prairie surrounding the Black Hills. It is considered sacred by Northern Plains Indians and indigenous people. Hundreds of parallel cracks make it one of the finest crack climbing areas in North America. Devils Tower entices us to learn more, explore more and define our place in the natural and cultural world.
Source: www.blackhillsbadlands.com/parks-monuments/devils-tower-n...
Devils Tower National Monument, a unique and striking geologic wonder steeped in Native American legend, is a modern-day national park and climbers' challenge. Devils Tower sits across the state line in northeast Wyoming. The Tower is a solitary, stump-shaped granite formation that looms 1,267 feet above the tree-lined Belle Fourche River Valley, like a skyscraper in the country. Once hidden below the earth’s surface, erosion has stripped away the softer rock layers revealing the Tower.
The two-square-mile park surrounding the tower was proclaimed the nation’s first national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. The park is covered with pine forests, woodlands, and grasslands. While visiting the park you are bound to see deer, prairie dogs, and other wildlife. The mountain’s markings are the basis for Native American legend. One legend has it that a giant bear clawed the grooves into the mountainside while chasing several young Indian maidens. Known by several northern plains tribes as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site of worship for many American Indians. Devils Tower is also remembered as the movie location for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
The stone pillar is about 1,000 feet in diameter at the bottom and 275 feet at the top and that makes it the premier rock climbing challenge in the Black Hills. Hikers enjoy the Monument’s trails. The 1.25-mile Tower Trail encircles the base. This self-guided hike offers close-up views of the forest and wildlife, not to mention spectacular views of the Tower itself. The Red Beds Trail covers a much wider three-mile loop around the tower.
Source: travelwyoming.com/places-to-go/destinations/national-park...
While America’s first national monument garnered significant attention as the backdrop to the 1977 Stephen Spielberg movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the tower is sacred to Northern Plains Indian tribes and the Black Hills region Kiowa Tribe. With oral storytelling and a history that dates back thousands of years, today, American Indian tribes continue to hold sacred ceremonies at the tower, including sweat lodges and sun dances. There is more to this monument than its rich history. You can stop at the visitor’s center to learn about one of the ranger-led programs, night sky viewing, hiking and even climbing to the top of Devils Tower. If one day isn’t enough to explore this unforgettable area, bring your camping gear to stay within the monument, or stay just outside or in accommodations at one of the nearby towns.
Additional Foreign Language Tags:
(United States) "الولايات المتحدة" "Vereinigte Staaten" "アメリカ" "美国" "미국" "Estados Unidos" "États-Unis"
(Wyoming) "وايومنغ" "怀俄明州" "व्योमिंग" "ワイオミング州" "와이오밍" "Вайоминг"
(Devils Tower National Monument) "النصب التذكاري الوطني لبرج الشياطين" "魔鬼塔国家纪念碑" "डेविल्स टॉवर राष्ट्रीय स्मारक" "デビルズタワー国定公園" "데빌스 타워 국립천연기념물" "Национальный монумент «Башня дьявола»" "Monumento Nacional Torre del Diablo"
It would be difficult to find a bad view of Devils Tower, but after reviewing my photos I found that I liked this long-distance shot just about the best of all. It shows not only how this massive rock dominates the landscape for miles around, but also that it seems just plain out-of-place.
Seen from Wyoming Route 24, approaching Devils Tower National Monument from the southeast.
A chilly visit to Devils Tower National Monument this past March (3-4-2022) netted images of mystical fog toying with the rocky heights, an ebb and flow wholely dependent upon the occasional puff of breeze in the near-freezing temperatures. Black and white seemed another appropriate approach to presenting this magical place.