In the north-east American state Wyoming in the middle of the endless Great Plains there is a lonely rock with a terrible name “ Devil's Tower» (« Devils Tower"), you can also sometimes hear the name " Devil's Mountain».
Devil's Tower is a so-called table mountain, that is, a mountain with a truncated, flat top. The peak of the mountain rises approximately 380 meters above the plain. Geologists claim that the age of this natural monument is more than 50 million years.
Devil's Tower has a rather unusual structure: the mountain consists mainly of hexagonal columns of almost ideal shape, and sometimes 4-, 5- and 7-sided columns are also found.
Examining the straight lines of the geometrically correct columns of the Devil's Tower, it is difficult to believe that this rock is a miraculous object.
All about Devil's Tower:
Title "Devil's Tower"Despite its scary name, Devil's Tower is sacred mountain for local indigenous Indian tribes. The name “Devil's Tower” itself appeared after the expedition of Colonel Richard Irving Dodge in 1875. The expedition translator incorrectly translated the name of the Indians: “ House of the Bad God", after which the interpretation appeared " Devil's Tower" Indians of different tribes call Devil's Tower completely differently: - « Bear House», |
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Several times the Indians asked the government to change official name mountains to Bear's Lair, but were rejected each time because officials believed that renaming Devils Tower would affect the tourism and economic well-being of that part of the state.
Origin of Devil's Tower
How could such an unusual rock appear in the middle of the plain? The debate about the origin of the Devil's Tower continues to this day. Scientists agree that the rock is formed from volcanic material, but cannot agree on how it was formed. However, there are alternative sensational versions of the appearance of this unique natural monument.
Legends and myths about Devil's Tower
Devil's Tower - a huge stump
It is believed that Devil's Tower and other mesas are fossilized stumps of ancient giant trees. It turns out that the ideal hexagonal columns of Devil's Mountain were once the fibers of a tree trunk. The Devil's Tower really does look like a huge stump: at the foot of the mountain, the fiber columns bend, as if forming the root system of a tree.
But who cut down such a big tree and where did the tree itself go?!
Alien Mountain
Hunters of little green men claim that the mountain was created by aliens as a navigational landmark and landing site for flying saucers. Some locals and tourists claim to have seen UFOs or strange light phenomena above Devil's Tower.
And lightning constantly strikes the top of the rock, which is not surprising, since Devil’s Tower is the only tall object on the plain. As such stories and rumors spread, they make the mountain even more famous and popular: now Devils Tower can often be seen in films about UFOs.
Indian legends
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The local Indians have a legend about the appearance of the mountain, which they pass on from mouth to mouth from generation to generation. Once upon a time, seven children went for a walk in the forest. A hungry giant bear noticed the children and chased them. The children could not escape from the terrible beast, and then they stood on a small stone and began to ask the Great Spirit to save them. The spirit heard the pleas of the Indians, and the stone began to grow rapidly, turning into inaccessible mountain. The bear tried to climb the mountain, but he failed, and on the rock after unsuccessful attempts there were traces of the huge claws of a ferocious beast. The mountain grew so high that the children climbed into the sky and lived there, turning into stars. The legend of another tribe of local Indians says that the mountain was created by an evil demon. He settled on the top of a mountain and sometimes beat his drum out of anger, generating lightning and thunder. The name “Tower of the Bad God” appeared precisely because of this legend. |
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Conquest of Devil's Tower
The Indians considered the mountain sacred - no one thought of climbing up to visit God. However, in late XIX centuries, people still conquered the top of the Devil's Tower. This was done by two local farmers. Having no climbing equipment, they used only pegs and wooden ladders. Nowadays, many doubt that farmers actually climbed to the top of Devil's Tower, but climbers say that in some places on the rock you can find those same pegs.
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The first climber to conquer Devil's Tower was Jack Durance. He climbed the devil's peak in 1938. In 1941 he decided to conquer the mountain George Hopkins. Professional skydiver George Hopkins came up with a cunning plan: since Devils Tower is so difficult to climb from below, it is better to jump to the top of the rock from above. His plan could have been called genius if he had thought through how he would then descend the mountain. Having made a parachute jump, Hopkins successfully landed on top of Devil's Tower. However, the equipment for descending from the mountain, which was dropped from the plane, either did not reach the top or was broken when it hit the rock. As a result, the parachutist became a prisoner of the Devil's Tower and became famous throughout America; a special committee was even created to save him. |
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After staying on top of the devil's rock for several days, the witty George Hopkins came up with a joke that all he needed was Eve to save humanity from death in the event of a global flood below. True, Hopkins was not able to enjoy the solitude at the top of the Devil's Tower: during the day, planes literally bombed, dropping food and medicine to the unfortunate conqueror of the rock, and at night, it was unclear where rats appeared. The created special committee called experienced rock climbers for the rescue operation. But the climbers, after an hour of visual reconnaissance and three hours of ascent, were forced to go down and abandon further attempts to climb. One of the climbers even admitted: “This damn block is too tough for us!” As it turned out, none of the climbers could climb to the top of Devil's Tower to save the poor skydiver. I had to look for the first climber to conquer the mountain. And only under the leadership of Jack Durance, along a route known only to him, were the climbers able to climb the devilish peak and lower the exhausted Hopkins on the cradle. |
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These days, Devil's Tower is very popular among rock climbers and mountaineers.
The relief of the mountain is very unusual, so it is necessary to use unusual climbing techniques. For example, you need to be able to move through a gorge “by surprise”.
Today, several climbing routes lead to the devil's peak.
Devil's Tower today
On September 24, 1906, by decree of President Theodore Roosevelt, Devils Tower became the first property designated as a national monument. These days, the unique rock is very popular among tourists. Every year hundreds of thousands of travelers come to see Devil's Tower, but only a few of them end up on the devil's peak, since climbing this unusual mountain only possible with special training.
Unfortunately, the Devil's Tower is gradually being destroyed. Columns of rock peel away from each other and crumble. The state authorities are thinking about preserving the unique natural monument, so perhaps in the future visits to the Devil’s Tower will be limited.
This amazing natural formation is located on the Great Plains in the northeastern part of Wyoming (United States of America). This is the famous Devil's Tower (in the original Devils Tower). It is located 14 kilometers from the town of Hallett.
Devil's Tower on the map
- Geographic coordinates 44.590538, -104.715416
- The distance from the US capital Washington is approximately 2400 km
- The nearest airport is Campbell Airport, about 70 km to the west.
Most likely, this attraction would not be so surprising if there were at least some rocks or mountains in its vicinity. But within a radius of several tens of kilometers there is not even a hint of them.
Devil's Tower is a tall rock formation set against the backdrop of an endless plain with occasional low hills. Moreover, its upper part looks like an unnatural structure cut lengthwise, which from a distance resembles a giant stump from the same giant cut down tree. For a long time, people believed (and some still believe) this monument was man-made. The fact is that the mountain, especially in the upper part, resembles a tight bunch of huge and long multifaceted pillars.
Devil's Tower in numbers
- Altitude above sea level – 1558 meters
- Height above the level of the nearby Belle Forch River - 386 meters
- Height from the layer of sedimentary rocks to the top – 285 meters
- The dimensions of the upper part are approximately 100 by 60 meters, which is comparable to the area of a football field
- The circumference of the Tower is just over 1500 meters long
Legends of Devil's Tower
As you can imagine, this is a rather noticeable rock, and Indians have lived around it since ancient times. In the end what? That's right, the Indians endowed it with mystical properties and shrouded it in legends. Moreover, for each tribe they were slightly different, but, as a rule, they came down to one conclusion. Here are a couple of legends.
One of the myths tells about a group of girls who were walking in the forest. Fierce bears noticed them and began to pursue them. The girls ran away for a long time, but when they got tired, they climbed onto a small rock and began to beg the Great Spirit to help them. The spirit heard the prayers, and the stone grew rapidly. The bears, trying to climb up, severely scratched the slopes with their claws, but they were unable to reach the girls. The bears went home, and the girls turned into bright stars. So the mountain, cut by bear claws, remained on the ground, and the beautiful, ever-shining stars in the sky.
The second legend says: two boys from the Sioux tribe were again attacked by the bear Mato and, running away from him, they prayed to the Creator God Wakan Tanka. He helped the guys soar to the top big mountains. Then the story of scratches and the bear leaving in disappointment repeats itself. A large eagle helped the boys down the mountain. This time the gods were supportive and did not turn the boys into anyone.
Similar stories are found among many tribes in various variations. But bears often appear in them. Therefore, locals often called the mountain “bear”, the Lair (or House) of the Bear.
Where does this name come from?
As you can see, there is virtually no connection between the Indian “House of the Bear” and the modern “Devil’s Tower”.
The whole world owes the appearance of the current name of this landmark to the translator. The name "Devil's Tower" originated in 1875 during an expedition led by Colonel Richard Irwin Dodge. The translator accompanying the colonel misinterpreted the original name from the Indian language, designating it approximately as “Tower of the Bad God,” that is, the devil.
According to another version, the colonel himself named the mountain that way, so to speak “for the sake of words.” In any case, this name stuck.
Twice in history, attempts were made to rename Devil's Tower to the House of the Bear.
The first time this was proposed to be done by representatives of several Indian tribes was in 2005, but the proposal did not find support from the authorities. The refusal was argued that changing the name would cause problems in the tourism sector.
The second time, in November 2014, one of the influential people of the Indian tribe again proposed renaming the monument, and again to the Bear House (it was assumed that this place would be called the Bear Lodge National Historic Landmark). Moreover, this time the public debate continued until the fall of 2015, but again ended with the refusal of the authorities.
Geology of Devil's Tower
As always, stubborn scientists break the entire mystical Indian aura and put forward their own version of the appearance of the Tower. We will not delve into the jungle of scientific terms and will try to briefly present it.
The landscape surrounding Devils Tower is composed primarily of sedimentary rock. Ancient sediments appeared here in the Triassic period (about 225-1900 million years ago), when there was an ocean in these places. The bottom was abundantly covered with a large layer of these sediments. About 60 million years ago, a volcano erupted, but the magma did not reach the surface of the water and froze. Then this part of the earth began to rise, and the process of erosion began. Little by little, the soft layers of sedimentary rocks began to be washed away by winds and rains, but the remains of the solidified magma turned out to be stronger and erosion was too tough for now, so only this formation remained in the middle of a flat plateau. Although it must be said that the process of destruction is still underway. Numerous rock fragments can now be observed around the central part of the tower. This suggests that in ancient times the mountain was much larger.
The shape of basalt faceted pillars is scientifically explained as follows. As the volcanic rocks cooled, the vertical columns compressed in cross-section (horizontally), and cracks appeared at an angle of 120 degrees, usually forming hexagonal columns (but 4-, 5- and even 7-sided ones are found).
Devil's Tower is not the only such natural wonder. Almost exactly the same natural formations can be seen on the famous Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, as well as in Fingal's Cave in Scotland. And some people suggest that both the Cave and the Road are generally parts of one giant inexplicable structure.
Devil's Tower and the conquerors of the peaks
Despite the height, which is ridiculous for professional climbers, this mountain remained unconquered for a long time. The Indians, considering it sacred, did not even try to climb to the top. The first settlers also did not see the point in this. In addition, steep walls are quite difficult to climb. Nevertheless, the Devil's Tower was still conquered.
The story of the first ascent
There was a ranch not far from the mountain. It was owned by William Rogers. Things weren't going well. And then he and his business partner Willard Ripley decided to attract people to these places and make some money. Ripley's father supported the idea, and the three men began to develop a plan to climb. In 1893 they tried with the help of a large kite throw a cord over the mountain. But the idea failed - the snake got stuck in the crevice. While trying to free the kite, Rogers and Ripley noticed that the crack in which it was stuck ran from the base of the Tower to the very top. She was supposed to be their ticket to the top.
The conquerors decided to install a kind of ladder, driving wedges with a diameter of about 8 cm and a length of about 30 cm into the crevice. The wedges were connected to each other by boards.
The work continued for several months, and Ripley slowly but surely climbed the slope of the Tower.
Construction was completed in late June 1893, and Rogers climbed to the top. When he came down, he said to his wife in a casual tone: “There is nothing at the top of the Tower, only a little soil and some wormwood.” (as if he went to the garden to get parsley)
The ceremonial ascent attraction was scheduled for July 4th. The news was spread throughout the region. Everyone was invited to the festival with food and drink, hay for the horses and lots of dancing. The main event of the day will be the ascent to the Tower and the installation of the American flag at the top. The information leaflet even said, “The 4th of July is better spent on Devils Tower than the World's Fair.”
Linnie Rogers and Dolly Ripley, the wives of our heroes, organize the sale of food, drinks and horse feed.
About 800 people gathered at the Tower to witness the first ascent. Some traveled three days and hundreds of miles just to witness this desperate act.
Before the climb, Bill Rogers put on his Uncle Sam costume and took the flag. By noon he was at the top, and American flag developed in the wind. After he came down, the crowd cheered and the celebrations continued throughout the night.
There were rumors that a little later one of the guests of the holiday climbed up, removed the flag and sold it in pieces for souvenirs. But historians do not confirm this.
Since the first ascent, an annual tradition began to gather here on the 4th of July. It went down in history as the "Old Settlers' Picnic."
Linnie Rogers, wife of Bill Rogers, was the first woman to climb the tower on July 4, 1895.
Over time, the staircase began to collapse, and in 1927 it was decided to dismantle its lower part in order to prevent tragedies. The remains of the staircase are still on the mountainside and are part of cultural history Devils Tower National Monument.
The first professional climber to conquer the Tower in 1938 was Jack Durance, who later rescued another climber.
This is the story. If Jack climbed to the top and came down from it (this is important!!!) in the traditional way, then parachutist George Hopkins decided to literally “jump” from the plane directly onto the mountain. Well, he did it very gracefully with the help of a parachute, but he was no longer able to descend from the top, since the rope dropped after him fell past the mountain. George did not dare to jump down the mountain without a parachute, and got stuck at the top. Due to strong winds, it was not possible to reach it from the air either by helicopter or by airship. We had to throw food and warm clothes off the plane for the poor fellow.
The same Jack Durance was called to help. He organized the ascent and rescue of Hopkins, who had already spent 6 days on the summit. Almost all newspapers wrote about this event at that time.
Devil's Tower today
Now you can climb the mountain. Safe paths have been laid out for this. But we must remember that Devil's Tower is sacred to the Indians. They do not encourage such events, especially in June when they perform their rituals at the mountain. Therefore, mountaineering is prohibited here at this time. Most climbers respect this decision, but there are people who still make it to the top even these days.
National Monument opened all year round, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the exception of December 25 and January 1. But it is recommended to arrive here from 9-00 to 16-00, then you can go on an excursion and climb to the top (if you have the courage, of course).
Devil's Tower is a National Monument and entry into its territory costs $5. Pass to the territory national monument for the whole year it costs $30. Not far from the mountain there is a parking lot and car camping.
Basic walking route around the rock is called Tower Trail. Its length is about 2 kilometers. There are information boards and benches along the entire route.
And a few photos for snacks
We are all accustomed to official versions of the origin of all living and nonliving things on our planet. Most often, we don’t even think about whether this is actually true. When visiting national parks and reserves, we tend to believe the information presented to us. We are surprised, but we believe... Perhaps someone has questions about the veracity of stories and legends, but usually rarely does anyone “dig” further and consider this or that object through the prism of their own feelings and sensations. We rely entirely on our science, despite the fact that science itself is sometimes unable to answer many questions.
This article will, of course, talk about reserves of the western part of the USA. In fact, the mysteries of nature can be found on almost all continents of our beautiful planet, but due to my place of residence and field of activity (excursions and tours in the cities and national parks of California, Arizona and Nevada), I will only touch on some attractions. I bring to your attention a different version of the origin and understanding of the most famous and amazing places western part of the USA. The version is not mine, it belongs to other very smart people, but it inspired me to convey information to all those who are interested in and know our world. I am sure that among the readers there will definitely be skeptics who will remain unconvinced. I'm not trying to convince you, I'm just suggesting you look at the familiar from a different perspective.
I’ll start with a very famous reserve - Nationalparka « Sequoia"(Sequoia National Park), located in the southern Sierra Nevada, California. Let's turn to Wikipedia. The source reports that “The park is best known for its giant sequoias, including a specimen called General Sherman, the largest tree (by wood volume) on Earth.” And further: “The General Sherman tree is the largest and heaviest living organism on the planet. However, it is neither the tallest sequoia - the record belongs to a specimen of the evergreen sequoia known as "Hyperion" - nor the tallest representative of the sequoiadendrons - specimens are known to be 95 m high, but they are smaller in volume. It is also known that the "Crannell Creek Giant" cut down in the mid-1940s, an evergreen sequoia species growing near the city of Trinidad, was 15-25% larger in volume than the "General Sherman." “The height of the General Sherman is 83.8 m, the weight is estimated at 1900 tons, the trunk volume is 1487 m³, the age is 2300-2700 years.”
General Sherman
Hyperion
This is one of the few giant redwoods that survived the barbaric logging of California redwoods from the 1880s to the 1920s. The question is, why did people need to cut down almost all the giant sequoias (and they were even larger than General Sherman)? See for yourself.
After all, this is a whole treasure, and it was possible to build from smaller specimens. It is believed that the forest was cut down for its timber, but this is not true. The fact is that old trees are an information storage device, a database, a hard drive, in modern terms. The trees record everything that happens on the planet in their information portal. A person with good sensors only needs to enter such a forest and easily read any information about the past by simply touching the tree trunk. And what kind of power flows into us through touch... Apparently someone needed to block this access. They left several smaller giants and formed a national park.
The most interesting thing is that the park"Sequoia" is only a tiny part of those giant forests that existed approximately 7500 years ago. back. And General Sherman will seem like a simple bush in comparison with those giants who ruled at that time. You won't believe your eyes and what you hear, but such sights as Devil's Tower (Wyoming), Mount Ben Balben in Ireland, Mount Roraima and Kukenan in South America, Table Mountain in Cape Town ( South Africa), Mount Uluru in Australia, and many other mesas ( Table Mountain- a mountain with a truncated, flat top (source: Wikipedia)) , scattered throughout the planet, are not mountains at all, but petrified stumps of ancient giant trees! Don't believe me? There is evidence for this.
Devils Tower, Wyoming
Mount Bel Balban, Ireland
Mount Roraima, South America
Mount Kukenan, South America
Table Mountain in Cape Town (South Africa)
Mount Uluru, Australia
They are everywhere.
Greenland
Russia
Venezuela
Ethiopia
These stumps stick out all over the planet. There are hundreds of them!
You've probably wondered why these mountains have such flat tops. As for the Devil's Tower, one of the most common versions is a staging area for landing alien creatures. It seems like our planes land on the ground, what prevents the aliens from doing the same? Why announce your landing place so clearly? But if you take into account the version of the cut down tree, then there is more logic in this. And the proof that this is, after all, a cut down tree is as follows.
Don't you think that the structure of the Devil's Tower mountain is quite unusual? It consists of identical tubular hexagons, not connected to each other by any material.
Are ordinary mountains anything like that? Answer: no. Scientists claim that the Devil's Tower formed from a magmatic melt that rose from the depths of the Earth and froze in the form of graceful columns. We are reasonable people and understand perfectly well that magma does not solidify in this way, and even in a hexagonal shape. Let us remember how the process of a volcanic eruption occurs.
This is how lava erupts:
This is how it flows:
And this is how it freezes:
In my opinion, it is difficult to imagine that the Devil's Tower was formed from lava. But it reminds me of something else, namely central part both trees and other plants. Take a close look at the cut of this tree:
Well? Reminds me of Devil's Tower? The center of the trunk is made of tubular hexagons! Let's take at least a simple botany textbook with a description of some plant and compare it with our giant stump.
The fibers of the stump, like the fibers of the flax stem, have a hexagonal shape, which strictly maintains its geometry along the entire length of the trunk, which is as much as 386 meters! Note that the fibers of the stump are more strict in their proportions than the diagram from the botany textbook.
The fibers do not differ from each other: they seem to be calibrated not only along their entire length, but also relative to each other. The feeling is that this is a bunch of hexagonal reinforcement after coming out of a metal rolling mill.
The fibers are not fused to each other, as they flake off freely and fall in hexagonal fragments as the stone erodes.
Each fiber of the stump is covered with a thin membrane. Exactly like fascia - a connective tissue membrane that forms cases for muscle fibers. As you can see, the petrified shell, in contact with winds and moisture, cracks, peels off and crumbles, and this is direct evidence that the fibers of the stump consist of at least two different components embedded in each other.
The fibers do not go vertically into the ground. They gradually bend to smoothly transform into the root system, as befits any tree.
As seen, official version accidental hardening of lava has no basis.
Devil's Tower is a mysterious monument in the heart of the Great Plains (USA, Wyoming) not far from Yellowstone National Park. Scientists argue over its origin, and local residents invent legends. Some believe this is a UFO landing site. Where could this huge rock in the middle of the plain come from?
But first things first.
Enlarged map of Devil's Tower. (Google maps)
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Devil's Tower on Google map maps
The Devil's Tower is located at an altitude of 1556 meters above sea level and rises 386 meters above the surrounding area. It is the first "national monument" of the United States, receiving its status from President Roosevelt in 1906. Every year, 400,000 tourists visit Devil's Tower.
The lines on the tower are so straight that it is difficult to believe that it was not created by man.
In winter, snow practically does not linger on the slopes due to their steepness.
The tower is shrouded in fog and it seems that it is hanging in the air.
The color is highly dependent on lighting and varies from orange to white.
It seems that aliens from other worlds are somewhere nearby.
There is a very beautiful view from the airplane window.
With this lighting, the tower became white.
At night it looks even more mysterious and mystical.
In the Lakota language, the monument is called Mato Tipila, which means House of the Bear or Bear's Den. Modern name he received it by mistake. In 1875, during an expedition led by Colonel Richard Dodge, the translator mistranslated the words of the Indians. As a result, the monument was first called the House of the Bad God, and later - the Devil's Tower. In 2005, several Native American tribes proposed renaming the monolith Bear Lodge, but their proposal was rejected.
Geologists agree that the tower is formed from volcanic material. But they cannot agree on how it was formed.
According to one version, the territory of the Great Plains was once covered by the sea and sedimentary layers formed at its bottom. At the site where the Devil's Tower is now, molten magma penetrated into the sedimentary rocks from the bowels of the earth. Having pushed apart the sandstones, shales and limestones that made up sea bottom, the magma froze before reaching the surface, in the form of a columnar basalt body. After millions of years, the sea gave way to land and rain and wind began to destroy softer sedimentary rocks. And the harder volcanic stock began to rise upward little by little. The basalts from which it is composed, during cooling, turned into picturesque vertical formations, similar to hexagonal pillars. Due to this, the mountain seems to have been created by human hands, or by the hands of the devil, but certainly not by nature.
Other scientists believe that Devils Tower is all that remains from a volcanic eruption. Erosion processes continue to this day, so that part of the tower hidden underground is still waiting in the wings.
The Indians have their own version of the origin of Devil's Tower. According to legend, seven girls were walking in the forest and were attacked by huge angry bears. The girls ran for a long time from the angry animals, but the bears did not lag behind. With the last of their strength, the children climbed onto a small rock and began to utter prayers for salvation to the Great Spirit. The spirit heard the girls' pleas and the stone began to grow rapidly. Thus, the girls began to move away from the bears. Enraged, the animals tried to climb the rock, but they failed. And on the rock forever there were traces of their huge claws. At the same time, the mountain grew and grew upward until the girls were able to step into the sky, where they turned into the stars of the Pleiades.
Nowadays, people continue to engage in myth-making. According to the beliefs of some local residents, the top of the rock is a landing site for UFOs. There are good reasons for this. Unidentified flying objects have been repeatedly spotted in the vicinity of the mountain, and strange light phenomena have been spotted on the top of the rock. Lightning very often strikes the top of the Devil's Tower. And the fact that this damn rock is the only object towering over the area is not an argument for them.
Devil's Tower was considered impregnable for a long time. It was first climbed by two local farmers at the end of the 19th century. They used ladders rather than climbing equipment to climb. The climber's ascent took place only in 1938. It was Jack Durance. The third person to climb the inaccessible rock was professional parachutist George Hopkins, who reached the top of the mountain from above in 1941. He jumped out of the plane with a parachute. The landing was successful, but getting down from the Tower was not as easy as Hopkins thought. The ropes that were dropped to him from the planes fell by or were damaged by hitting the rocks. It was not possible to use a helicopter or airship due to bad weather conditions. The paratrooper was captured on a rock.
Jack Durance before jumping to Devil's Tower.
In my opinion, in 1941 the Americans didn’t have these yet.)))
All of America was talking about this news. As it turned out, none of the climbers could climb to the top of the rock. I had to look for Jack Durance. In the end, he saved Hopkins by climbing the mountain again.
Today the Tower is very popular among climbers and climbers. And interest in it continues to grow. A considerable number of routes have already been laid to the top of the Tower. The structure of the rock is very unusual, and therefore the climbing technique also requires additional skills. For example, the ability to move across terrain in a spread and crack climbing.
Video: “Conquest of the Devil's Tower”
Of the 400,000 tourists who visit Devil's Tower each year, only one percent decides to climb to the top. But the Indians are against crowds of tourists climbing to the top of the rock, since it is sacred to them. Therefore, most climbers do not climb here in June. At this time, the Indians hold their ceremonies.
You can get to Devil's Tower: in the USA by any (road, air, rail) mode of transport to the city of Rapid City (or Gillette in the northeast of Wyoming); then only by car up to the hill.
At the end, as always, I bring to your attention a short video.
Finally, I would like to say that this mountain appears in films about aliens. Such as: “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) - Steven Spielberg and “Paul” (2011) - Greg Mottola.
That's it for sure now!!! And to hell with it, with this tower!
Devils Tower is a columnar rock resembling a tower consisting of individual stone pillars stacked in a bunch, located in Wyoming. This mountain of unusually regular shape, which arose 200 million years ago, for a long time gave the impression of an artificial structure, but not of human, but of diabolical origin. It is worth noting that the rock is 2.5 times larger than the Cheops pyramid.
The mountain has long been an object of reverent worship and a source of fear among the local population, and it has been claimed that strange, mysterious light phenomena have been repeatedly observed at the very top.
The Indians say that one day seven beautiful girls climbed to the flat top of a mountain to escape a huge, scary bear. The beast, desperate to catch the girls, left deep claw marks on the slopes as it tried to climb up. When the bear finally managed to reach the top, the girls jumped onto a small rock and escaped the fate of dying in the claws of the monster, soaring into the sky.
According to another myth, the Devil's Tower got its mystical name because of an evil demon who beat a drum at the top, generating thunder. Be that as it may, the rock really amazes with its size and bizarre shape. This is the most high point at a distance of many kilometers around, in clear days it can be seen from 160 km away.
This peak was conquered only twice: by a local resident in the 19th century and by rock climber Jack Durrance in 1938. An airplane cannot land on the top, and helicopters are literally blown away from a small area. Experienced skydiver George Hopkins expected to become the third conqueror of the summit.
The landing was successful, but all the special ropes that were dropped from the planes became unusable when they hit the rocks. The parachutist became a prisoner of the rock. The news of this spread throughout America. Soon dozens of planes were circling the air, dropping free food and equipment on Hopkins. But most of them didn’t make it.
It turned out that the inaccessible smooth granite rock was inhabited by rats, which became more impudent every night. A specially created committee to rescue Hopkins called in experienced climber Ernst Field and his partner. But the climbers, after 3 hours of climbing, were forced to return. Field admitted: “We can’t handle this damn block! Professionals conquer peaks higher than 8 km, but are powerless before a height of 390 meters!”
The committee began to look for D. Durrance through the press. Two days later he arrived and began preparing for the ascent along a route known to him. The climbers, led by Durrance, reached the top and lowered the exhausted parachutist down. In total, Hopkins remained a prisoner of the Tower for about a week.
Photo - Devil's Tower
Video - the mystery of the Devil's Tower
