The famous movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind features the Devils Tower. Anyone who sees it knows it.

It became famous when Richard Dreyfuss began having visions of the Devils Tower with its flat top and ridged sides. Soon after having the visions he constructs a crew sculpture in his mashed potatoes. Needless to say his family is alarmed. He becomes more and more obsessed with the mountain. First he makes paintings of it, then he goes off the deep end. When he brings in piles of dirt from the yard to create a scale replica in his living room, his wife and kids leave him. It’s a well known scene.

Eventually Richard’s character travels to Wyoming to see the real Devils Tower. He has to sneak there to avoid authorities. There he sees an amazing spectacle. Aliens land after communicating with humans using a giant organ. Many people, abducted long ago, come off the ship. Richard’s character is amongst those who choose to travel with the aliens back to their home planet. A sequel or remake has never been begun. There are extra scenes in some versions that show the interior of the vessel. But these weren’t very well done.

Back to the real Devils Tower. It’s located in Wyoming. It’s a volcano neck. This is also known as a lava neck. It’s a result of magma flowing out of a volcano’s vent. It’s generally the sign of an active volcano. It’s not certain that this formation is such a plug. But many geologists believe it is.

The Indians have a legend about how Devils Tower Wyoming was formed. Some Indian sisters were walking in the wilderness, picking flowers, when they came upon some bears. A chase ensued. The Great Spirit helped the girls by raising up the land upon which they stood. But the bears were persistent. They tried to climb up to the girls but as they neared the top slid back down. The distinctive indentations in the sides of the tower come from the bears’ claws.

Another legend, this one told by the Sioux Indians, was of two boys wandering far from their village. A giant bear called Mato came upon them. It had claws the size of tepees, and it wanted to eat the boys for breakfast. They prayed to the Creator to give them assistance. He did, raising the ground beneath them. Mato, like the bears in the other story, kept trying and failing to climb. Its huge claw marks remain.

Whether fantastic tales of giant bears or friendly aliens the Devils Tower is a great place to visit.