![]() Climbing the tower is nothing new, however, since the first climbers reached the top of Devils Tower on July 4, 1893. ![]() Records of these climbs have been kept since 1937, and there are about 200 designated routes for climbers to follow. Approximately 5,000 climbers a year attempt to scale it. Climbers welcome Visitors are welcome to climb on the rocks and the more daring can actually climb the tower itself. The base of the tower is surrounded by large boulders and rocks that are actually columns of rock that have fallen from its sides. Soaring 865 feet tall, Devils Tower is an awesome sight that can be spotted for miles before you reach its base. President Theodore Roosevelt was obviously inspired in 1906 when he designated Devils Tower as the nation's first national monument, and it's likely that any visitor today will not only be inspired but awed at the beauty of such a natural wonder. It currently stands 1,280 feet above the Belle Fourche. Geologic estimates place the age of the tower's origin at greater than 50 million years ago, with erosion by the Belle Fourche River and the weather uncovering the mammoth obelisk only one or two million years ago. ![]() Stephen Spielberg was inspired, and used Devils Tower as a landing pad for aliens in his 1978 hit movie, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." The tower's origin Geologists are inspired to study and debate the origin of Devils Tower. Although legend isn't always true or even believable, it's easy to be inspired by Devils Tower. The marks of the bear's claws are still there etched upon the sides of the rock. The girls were continued to be pushed upward into the sky where they are to this day in a group of seven small stars called the Pleiades. The bear clawed and jumped at the sides of the rock and broke its claws and fell to the ground. Just as he was about to catch them, they jumped on a rock about three feet high and began to pray to the rock, "Oh great rock, take pity on us Rock, save us." The rock heard their pleas and began to push itself upward, higher and higher and out of reach of the bear. One of the most popular legends tells of seven small girls who were playing by the river when a bear began to chase them. By NANCY JOHNGRASS VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT Devils Tower National Monument is surrounded by legend and lore created and passed down by a variety of local Indian tribes. The 865-foot stone monolith inspires climbers and tourists.
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