It’s not the Devil’s land, you know it’s not that kind
Every devil I meet becomes a friend of mine
Every devil I meet is an angel in disguise
—”Jonas and Ezekiel“, The Indigo Girls
![Devils Tower, a volcanic formation in Wyoming, as seen from a distance across the valley. [Credit: moi]](https://sciencevspseudoscience.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/distant_view.jpg?w=500)
Devils Tower, a volcanic formation in Wyoming, as seen from a distance across the valley. [Credit: moi]
I visited Devils Tower on a cold March Sunday at the malingering end of winter. The roads were mostly clear, but a few icy patches left from prior snowfalls made driving in a minor adventure. I was in the region to visit a physics lab in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but I had a day before I was expected and chose to spend it in a small bit of tourism. (Before anyone asks, I’ve visited Mount Rushmore before and felt like seeing something different on this trip. That, and I’d rather see an amazing geological formation than a mountain blasted into human likeness, but that’s just me.)
Devils Tower isn’t terribly remote by modern transportation: it’s off the Interstate highway, but less than two hours’ drive from where I was staying. However, you have to try to get there: it’s not on the way anywhere else, and there’s no substantial town close by. But then as you drive closer, it appears across the valley: a tall, narrow, steep-sided protrusion of rock in the midst of low mountains. While not quite otherworldly, Devils Tower is evocative; no wonder it features heavily in the religions of the native peoples of the region.
![A close-up view of Devils Tower reveals that it is made of a bundle of hexagonal columns (with a few other shapes as well). [Credit: moi]](https://sciencevspseudoscience.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/close-up1.jpg?w=500)
A close-up view of Devils Tower reveals that it is made of a bundle of hexagonal columns (with a few other shapes as well). [Credit: moi]
So, the Devils Tower we see today was born deep underground. To me, it’s a beautiful example of something that looks inexplicable, yet we can understand through science — yet the marvel of seeing it is undiminished by comprehension. Far from losing a sense of wonder, scientific knowledge leads us to greater wonder. Every devil I meet becomes a friend of mine, indeed.