Devil's Tower National Monument - Research Paper Example

due: Devil's Tower National Monument This geologic feature has amazed individuals by its spectacular features and formation. This geologic wonder was honored by it being termed as the first national monument in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The monument is used mostly for climbing by tourists. This monolithic monument is famous for its spectacular columnar jointing. This geological feature has a height of 1,267 feet above the surrounding terrain and 1,546 meters above the mean sea level. This is world renowned landmark of the northern Great Plains (Britton & Tamara, 4). Figure 1: Devil’s Tower view to the east with the Belle Fourche River in the background. Physical appearance The Devil’s Tower National Monument is comprised of red rocks. The red colored stones are known as dark red sandstone and maroon siltstone. A thin layer of white gypsum is seen above the red spearfish rocks. Yellow sandstones as a result of Sundance formation, which are very delicate, can be seen on the vertical cliffs which surround the tower. A river runs under the feature. This landmark is made up of polygonal columns, which make up its striking features. The bigger columns narrow from the base 6-8 feet in diameter to about 4 feet at the pinnacle (Britton & Tamara, 4). Figure 2: Devil’s Tower as viewed from the North. Location This feature is located at Crook County, in north eastern Wyoming. It is situated in The United States of America. This attraction feature is a laccolith or ingenious intrusion in the black hills next to Hulett and Sundance. It is above the river known as Belle Fourche (Ludmer, 38). Figure 3: Location of the Devil’s Tower Local history The Devil’s Tower has a fabulous significance to the plains tribes, which are more than twenty in native tribes. These tribes viewed this feature as a sacred zone (Britton & Tamara, 4). They used this section for sacred activities, including worship, rituals, and sacrifices. These native tribes have a sacred legend concerning the origin of this landmark. These native tribes have special names for this monument they include; bear’s tipi, bear’s lodge, bear’s house, bears peak, and bear’s lair among many more names. The most basic maps concerned with this area named this monument “bear lodge”. They named it after the terms the natives of the region were using. In 1875, Colonel Dodge guided a survey group to the black hills. The surveyors misunderstood the description given by the natives concerning this area. They translated it as “Bad God’s Tower”. Dodge reported this expedition area as the Devil’s Tower; this name has stuck ever since (Gunderson, 66). Origin of the Tower The origin of this landmark has been a debatable issue among geologists from time immemorial since its discovery. Geologists believe that this tower was formed by intrinsic intrusion activities. They believe that this attraction was formed by the forced entry of magma amid various rocks. The debatable issue is how the formation process happened and if the magma reached the surface of the earth region. Geologists have estimated the age of this amazing monument to be more than 50 million years. The work of erosion led to the visibility of this Tower. Before the action of erosion, this monument could not be seen above the sedimentary rocks covering it (Monroe, James, and Reed, 102). Erosion action, mostly water resulted into wearing off of the fine grained sandstones and gray- green shales on top of and in the region of the geologic feature. The tough igneous rock layers of this landmark resisted the action of erosion, resulting into gray columns above the surrounding scenery. Rain and snow continually erode the sedimentary rocks around the base of the monument. The debris is then carried by the Belle Fourche River to other locations. This eroding activity results into further exposition of the Devil’s Tower National Monument (DiPietro, 173). Geology present The Devil’s Tower National Monument is surrounded by Ponderosa pine forests and grassland. Ecology of this feature is made up of sedimentary rocks; which were formed by erosion depositions. This is due to wind and water breaking and depositing the rock fragments around this given area. The sedimentary rocks are red in color. The red color of the rocks is brought about by the oxidization of minerals. The oxidizing outcome of the rocks is due to the iron minerals as part of the rock composition. The end product rock, which is red in color, is called Permian Triassic spearfish formation (Rogers, 167). On top of the red colored stones, is a white colored rock made up of gypsum. This white colored rock in appearance forms the gypsum springs. The broad aprons of talus around this geologic feature indicate rock fall from collapse along the fractures and joints that bring out the igneous columns of the monument (DiPietro, 152). Triassic, Jurassic, and Permian sedimentary rocks comprise of the rolling hills and gentle slopes that surround the Devil’s Tower. Shales and siltstones are eroded easily due to their poor cementation. Figure 4: Spearfish formation in the black hills. The red beds are silt stone and sandstone, white beds are gypsum. Figure 5: Devil’s Tower, flat summit, vertical columnar jointing and curved columns at the base of the tower. How Devil’s Tower National Monument has evolved over time The oldest rocks, which formed this monument, were deposited in a shallow inland sea. During the Triassic period which was 225 to 195 million years ago, a sea covered the central and western regions of the country. The red colored rocks embedded with shale are visible due to this effect. A thin band of white gypsum was laid during the Jurassic period which was 195 to 136 million years ago. Because of the impact of the seas retreating and returning, gray green shale were laid from the shore within the deep marine ecosystem. The gray green shales joined together with sandstones, lime stones, and thin beds of red mudstone. This resulted to Sundance formation during the Jurassic era. Yellow sand stone, which was fine grained, was deposited on the ancient beach, known as the Hulett Sandstone forms the Sundance formation (Rogers, 167). Tracing 50 to 60 million years in the past, during the tertiary period an activity took place. This was due to increased pressures in the North American region. An uplifting effect of the rocky mountains and black hills took place. This led to rise in magma via the crust. This resulted into the present sedimentary rock layers. Wind and water erosion revealed the rock formations about two million years ago. Rocks continually break off and come from the steep walls of this familiar sight. Sometime entire columns fall off. This is an eroding effect thus, uncovering the tower. Evidence of this self- erosion action is seen by heaps of broken columns, small rocks, and rubble at the bottom of the tower. This means that this tower was bigger in size years ago than it is today, and eventually this national monument will not be the same or it will not be there at all due to erosion effects (DiPietro, 179). Works cited Britton, Tamara L. Devils Tower. Edina, Minn: Abdo Pub, 2005. Print. DiPietro, Joseph A. Landscape Evolution in the United States: An Introduction to the Geography, Geology, and Natural History. Burlington, MA: Elsevier, 2013. Internet resource. Gunderson, Mary A. Devils Tower: Stories in Stone. Glendo, Wyo: High Plains Press, 1988. Print. Ludmer, Larry H. Touring the National Parks of the Midwest: Badlands, Devil's Tower, Grand Teton, Mt. Rushmore, Scotts Bluff, Yellowstone. Edison, NJ: Hunter Pub, 2009. Internet resource. Monroe, James S, and Reed Wicander. The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2012. Print. Rogers, Hiram. Exploring the Black Hills & Badlands: A Guide for Hikers, Cross-Country Skiers & Mountain Bikers. Boulder, Colo: Johnson Books, 1999. Print. Read More