geology | Geophilia Photography

At 40 million years old Devil’s Tower has certainly endured. But what you may not know is this towering rock was sacred to more than twenty Native American Plains Tribes hundreds of years ago. As remarkable as Devil’s Towers physical endurance is its spiritual endurance in the minds, hearts and souls of today’s Native Americans who continue to pilgrimage the site for sacred rituals. If you look closely you’ll see little prayer bags hanging on trees.

Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wyoming

For more information about the Tribes of Devil’s Tower check out the NPS site

Check out other posts for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Endurance

A cirque is a semicircular shaped bedrock feature high on mountainside partially surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. Cirques are created by the advancing and retreating of glaciers. The basin becomes deeper and wider in diameter each year as it continues to be eroded. An interesting feature of a cirque is the tarn or glacial lake which results from melting glaciers.

Cirque, Grand Teton, Wyoming

Sometimes multiple cirques will form, the rock in between is an arête, a steep ridge dividing the two cirques. When three cirques form the result is a glacial horn (or pyramidal peak) such as the Matterhorn in the Alps or Irene’s Arête in the Tetons.