Devils Tower became the United States’ first national monument in 1906.
President Theodore Roosevelt established Devils Tower National Monument by presidential proclamation on September 24, 1906. The site protects a striking igneous formation in northeastern Wyoming’s Black Hills region.
Devils Tower rises 867 feet above the surrounding landscape and is composed of tall polygonal columns formed as molten rock cooled. Its unusual shape attracted scientific interest and later became a well-known symbol of the American West.
The landmark also has deep cultural importance for several Indigenous nations, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Kiowa, who use names and traditions connected with the formation. The name “Devils Tower” came from a 19th-century translation and naming history that remains debated.