naturebriefs
9:38in productionCh. 1 · What it is made of/ 9:38 · ceiling 15 min
Habitats · Systems

Devils Tower

1906

A tower that sheds itself — every fallen column is proof it is still alive.

Devils Tower is a working geologic process, not a relic. Its origin is clear: phonolite porphyry, intruded 40.5 million years ago. Its structure is legible: polygonal columns from cooling magma. Its present is active: columns fracture and fall, scree accumulates, exposure increases. It was interpreted first by Carpenter and Russell, then refined by Darton and O'Harra in 1907. It belongs to field geology, not myth or monument-making.

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Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 1:10
    What it is made of

    It is igneous rock, not sedimentary — a 40.5-million-year-old intrusion exposed by erosion.

  2. 3:48
    How it cracked

    Its columns formed as magma cooled — not carved, not deposited, but cracked open from within.

  3. 5:01
    How it falls

    It is still falling apart — columns break, tumble, pile up as scree, revealing more each year.

  4. 5:58
    Who figured it out

    Geologists Carpenter, Russell, Darton and O'Harra built its story step by step — no single eureka moment.

Worth your time?

Yes. See the whole thing.

4.5/ 5
What works
  • shows active geology in real time
  • links observable features (columns, scree) directly to processes (cooling, erosion)
  • has clear, dated scientific interpretation history
What does not
  • claim lifespan or age of individual columns
  • state conservation status
  • describe flora or fauna on or around it
  • attribute cultural significance beyond naming Matȟó Thípila or Bear Lodge
See it if
  • field geologists
  • rock climbers who observe fracture patterns
  • teachers using scree as evidence of erosion
Skip it if
  • casual sightseers seeking photo ops only
  • those expecting interpretive trails or visitor centres as primary experience
The written brief1 min read

What the species is and where it came from

Devils Tower is a laccolithic butte of phonolite porphyry, intruded ~40.5 million years ago in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

Devils Tower works as a vertical exposure of ancient magma, shaped by cooling fractures and ongoing erosion — rain and snow wear away softer sedimentary rock around it, while columns break off and tumble to the base.

What it gets right

It gets right the link between cooling magma and polygonal jointing — hexagonal (and 4–7 sided) columns up to 600 ft tall formed directly from crystallisation.

What it does not

It does not stand still. It sheds columns constantly. It is not stable. It is not a monolith in the geological sense — it is actively narrowing and shedding mass.

What it changed

It changed how geologists interpreted laccoliths — Carpenter and Russell identified igneous intrusion; Darton and O’Harra named it an eroded laccolith remnant in 1907.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for people who watch rock fall, who read scree as history, who stand at the base and look up at fractures that opened before mammals existed. It is not for those who want static monuments or curated vistas.

Is it worth your time

Yes, if you want to see active geology in real time: column collapse, scree accumulation, and widening exposure are visible now, not inferred from fossils or models.

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