Devils Tower National Monument

Devils Tower National Monument, covering 1,347 acres in northeastern Wyoming, is the nation's first national monument. Located beside the Belle Fourche River, the majestic tower of columnar rock rises 865 feet with a base diameter of 1,000 feet. Its flat peak has an area of about 1.5 acres. The tower is most likely the lava neck of an extinct volcano. The Sioux called the tower Mateo Tepee, or 'Grizzly Bear's Lodge,' because legend claimed that the columns of the rock were created by the claws of a bear trying to climb the sheer walls to catch some Indians on top.