Qualla: Devils Tower: The Sacred Stone Hollywood Made Famous https://qualla.com/devils-tower-sacred-stone en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/x/v/t/devils-tower-sacred-stone-wk/devils-tower-national-1.jpg Qualla: Devils Tower: The Sacred Stone Hollywood Made Famous https://qualla.com/devils-tower-sacred-stone Devils Tower: The Sacred Stone Hollywood Made Famous: Introduction https://qualla.com/devils-tower-sacred-stone/ Photo credit PLBechly, CC BY-SA 4.0. It rises 867 feet from the Wyoming prairie, a column of igneous rock so geometrically perfect it seems designed. Devils Tower - a name imposed by white settlers who ignored what the Lakota called it: Mato Tipila, Bear Lodge. The column is sacred to over 20 Indigenous nations, each with origin stories explaining its dramatic columnar jointing as claw marks from a giant bear. It was also America's first national monument, designated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Then Steven Spielberg put it in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' and everything changed. Now the tower hosts a complicated trinity: climbers who see it as challenge, tribes who see it as church, and tourists who see it as movie set.

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Image: PLBechly | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/x/v/t/devils-tower-sacred-stone-wk/9xvt-devils-tower-the-sacred-stone-hollywood-made-famou-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Devils Tower: The Sacred Stone Hollywood Made Famous: The Geology https://qualla.com/devils-tower-sacred-stone/ Photo credit Pi3.124, CC BY-SA 4.0. Devils Tower formed 50 million years ago as magma intruded into sedimentary rock. As it cooled, the magma contracted, forming the hexagonal columns that give the tower its distinctive appearance - like a bundle of pencils standing on end. Erosion removed the softer surrounding se...

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Image: Pi3.124 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/x/v/t/devils-tower-sacred-stone-wk/9xvt-devils-tower-the-sacred-stone-hollywood-made-famou-the-geology.mp3 0:06 2 full Devils Tower: The Sacred Stone Hollywood Made Famous: The Sacred https://qualla.com/devils-tower-sacred-stone/ Photo credit CC BY 2.5. For the Lakota, Cheyenne, Crow, Kiowa, and other tribes, the tower is sacred. Origin stories vary in detail but share themes: children fleeing from a bear, climbing a rock that rises beneath them, the bear's claws scoring the columns as it tries to reach them. The names given by ...

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Image: CC BY 2.5

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/x/v/t/devils-tower-sacred-stone-wk/9xvt-devils-tower-the-sacred-stone-hollywood-made-famou-the-sacred.mp3 0:06 3 full Devils Tower: The Sacred Stone Hollywood Made Famous: The Climbing https://qualla.com/devils-tower-sacred-stone/ Photo credit U.S. Department of Agriculture, CC BY 2.0. Rock climbers discovered Devils Tower in 1893 when local rancher William Rogers built a wooden ladder to the summit. Technical climbing began in 1937; today over 4,000 climbers attempt routes annually. The columns offer excellent crack climbing - jamming hands and feet into the g...

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Image: U.S. Department of Agriculture | CC BY 2.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/x/v/t/devils-tower-sacred-stone-wk/9xvt-devils-tower-the-sacred-stone-hollywood-made-famou-the-climbing.mp3 0:06 4 full Devils Tower: The Sacred Stone Hollywood Made Famous: The Movie https://qualla.com/devils-tower-sacred-stone/ Photo credit Jonathunder, Public domain. Steven Spielberg's 1977 film 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' made Devils Tower a global icon. In the film, the tower is the predetermined contact point between humans and aliens - its distinctive shape appearing in visions that compel the protagonist's pilgrimage. Filming at...

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Image: Jonathunder | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/x/v/t/devils-tower-sacred-stone-wk/9xvt-devils-tower-the-sacred-stone-hollywood-made-famou-the-movie.mp3 0:06 5 full Devils Tower: The Sacred Stone Hollywood Made Famous: Visiting Devils Tower https://qualla.com/devils-tower-sacred-stone/ Photo credit Ildar Sagdejev (Specious), CC BY-SA 4.0. Devils Tower National Monument is located in northeastern Wyoming, approximately 30 miles from Sundance via Highway 14. The monument is open year-round; visitor center hours vary seasonally. A 1.3-mile paved trail circles the tower's base - accessible and spectacular. Climbing re...

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Image: Ildar Sagdejev (Specious) | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/x/v/t/devils-tower-sacred-stone-wk/9xvt-devils-tower-the-sacred-stone-hollywood-made-famou-visiting-devils-tower.mp3 0:06 6 full