Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming  Sep 24, 2025

Somewhere in the wide prairies of northeastern Wyoming stands Devils Tower, a stone formation that rises from the open plains. Once called Bear Lodge, the butte gained its current name during an 1875 expedition led by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, possibly after an interpreter mistranslated a Native phrase as "Bad God"s Tower." The missing apostrophe in its official title follows standard geographic naming conventions—hence, the signs read "Devils Tower." In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed it the nation"s first national monument; a milestone whose anniversary falls today.

© Laura Hedien/Getty Images

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