09/30/2021
We often hear people say that they expected the Tower to have been a lone feature on the landscape. That the desolate prairie would give way to this great monolith, unmatched in size and scope. That is true to a point - there is no other feature exactly like it. The Tower does have family, though. Cousins, in fact!
Approaching Devils Tower National Monument, you will see tall, knobby features on the horizon northwest of the Tower. These are called the Little Missouri Buttes, named for their proximity to the Little Missouri river headwaters. The Little Missouri Buttes are less than 4 miles from Devils Tower and were originally intended to be a part of the National Monument. Under a time constraint, Devils Tower National Monument was drafted smaller than originally planned and ended up not including the Little Missouri Buttes.
It is most appropriate to say that the Tower and the buttes are cousins, not siblings. They are composed of slightly different rock types and likely do not have the same columnar interior that the Tower has. It is also likely that the Buttes are extrusive, or that they formed above ground and cooled very quickly. The Tower is an intrusive formation, meaning that it formed under ground and cooled very slowly.
The tallest of the Little Missouri buttes is even higher than the summit of Devils Tower!
When you visited Devils Tower National Monument, did you notice the Little Missouri Buttes in the horizon?
Photo: NPS photo - A historic black and white photo of Devils Tower with the Little Missouri Buttes in the background.
