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惡魔塔國家保護區 Devil’s Tower National Monument簡介
Devil's Tower National Preserve (Devil’s Tower National Monument)是位在Wyoming州的一座巨石，也是美國的第一個國家保護區，由老羅斯福總統簽署成立。雖說是位在Wyoming，實際上看看地圖，Devil’s tower距離South Dakota的Black hills區域較近，所以其實更適合和South Dakota的景點一起安排成為自駕行程的一部份，從Rapid city開車過來只要2個小時。我們就是在去Badlands National Parkand North Dakota.Roosevelt National ParkAfter that, a drive to the Devil's Tower was arranged.
The Devil's Tower has risen out of nowhere on the plains, and you can see the whole tower before you even enter the entrance, how big is it? Its top is 55 * 90 square meters, about the size of a soccer field, and its height is 264 meters. In addition to this huge rock, the entire reserve also includes the surrounding forest and the Belle Fourche River.
It takes about 10 minutes to get to the parking lot from the entrance, which is at the foot of the rock. There is a visitor center at the entrance, so it's a good idea to come in and learn about it first. The visitor center explains the formation of the Devil's Tower and the history of the neighborhood. According to the local Indian legend, seven Indian princesses were attacked by a black bear while they were playing and climbed up the trunk of the tree that later became the Devil's Tower. The straight line of cracks that we can see on the outside of the Devil's Tower is, in the myth, the marks that the black bear scratched out. The Devil's Tower later became a sacred site for the Indians.
In fact, the reason for the formation of the Devil's Tower is that it was originally a volcano, and the magma from the volcano surged upwards out of the ground but did not spew out, instead it hit the red clay rock layer around the periphery, and when it cooled down, it formed the huge basalt rock that we see now, and the fissures around the periphery were formed by contraction during the cooling down process. Originally, there was a layer of red clay sedimentary rock around the perimeter, but after millions of years the exposed sedimentary rock has been eroded by weathering and disappeared, thus becoming the Devil's Tower we see now.
Tower’s trail
惡魔塔園區的主要步道有Tower’s trail和Red beds trail，一般來說大家都是走舖設好、圍繞惡魔塔底部一圈的Tower’s trail。這條步道長度是1.3 mile，大致算是平緩，大人小孩走起來都不難，不過有些地方較窄，也還是有些坡度。雖然都是繞一圈，不過我們走完後發現最好是逆時針爬，要是像我們順時針爬感覺上坡比較陡。
The trail is just a simple loop, not specifically marked on the map, but I think the best viewpoints are not far from the trail entrance, no matter whether you walk clockwise or counterclockwise, the first viewpoint you come across will be able to see the entire devil tower. this is the first point when you walk clockwise.
If you walk counterclockwise, you will come to this position, in fact, this is the closest to the entrance, so if you don't have time to walk the whole trail, remember to walk counterclockwise for a short distance to this place. The crack in the exterior is called boulder field, and the light is better in this direction at sunset.
If you have time, you can walk around the trail to the back of the steeper side. The Devil's Tower is actually surrounded by forests, and most of the area can be considered as forest trails, which are quite comfortable to walk on. As the time changes, the light in different directions also changes a lot.
The reverse is also where the bear crawls in the painting depicting Indian lore.
If you are serious about walking through the Devil's Tower, there are a few other things worth noting. For example, about halfway down the tower is a crack called The Window, and if it's sunrise in the morning, you can see a deep shadow from the light shining through it, just like a window.
There have been attempts to climb to the top since ancient times, and we can still see on the backside the wooden ladder that was set up by the early expedition teams to the top, and there is a telescopic tube placed here for us to look at, which you need to be very careful to see.
If you're tired of seeing the Devil's Tower, the valley view point at the midpoint offers a spectacular view of the plains and the Belle Fourche River below.
Other Nearby Attractions
- North Dakota Self-drive Itinerary] Theodore Roosevelt National Park 3 Days Tour, Medora Accommodation Food Tips
- South Dakota Self-drive Itinerary】What to do in South Dakota, 5 Days Tour, Accommodation, Food Tips and Tricks
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