![A Common Denominator To One Of Wyoming’s Weird Mysteries](http://townsquare.media/site/102/files/2024/03/attachment-Devils-Tower-Bear.jpg?w=980&q=75)
A Common Denominator To One Of Wyoming’s Weird Mysteries
Wyoming is a state of firsts.
- First National Park
- The first state to let women vote
- First woman governor
- First National Forest
- First lit evening football game
- First state with a county library system
- First ranger station
Another one of Wyoming's firsts is the first National Monument...Devils Tower.
The popular tourist attraction stands out like a sore thumb. Although I've never heard of a theory that Devil's Tower is the thumb of a giant who fell from space, many theories try to explain it.
Aliens built it as a landing pad.
It is a stump of a tree.
Native Americans who called this area home for a long time also have their theory about Devil's Tower. Even though their stories are a little different, one common part of their story is a bear.
Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, and Lakota have stories passed down from generation to generation. Each story features a bear, but the way the bear is featured in the stories is a little different.
The National Park System has a section of its website that is dedicated to those stories.
Over the years, geologists have reached an agreement on the creation of the monument:
Devil's Tower formed from molten rock forced upwards from deep within the earth. Debate continues, however, as to whether the rock cooled underground or whether Devil's Tower magma reached the surface. Current research supports the conclusion that Devil's Tower was not a volcano, but was injected between sedimentary rock layers and cooled underground.
Devils Tower As Seen From The Mother Ship
Gallery Credit: Glenn Woods
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