Hexagonal Columns

We are in South Dakota or Minnesota right now, but I'm catching up on some stuff from Wyoming.

Regular readers know that I'm a technophile. At Devils Tower, I was most interested in the explanations of the formation of this splendid natural artifact.  The explanation they give is this.

Magma intruded into sedimentary rock far below the surface.  As the magma cooled, it shrunk.  The shrinkage caused stresses and cracks.  The cracks formed regular patterns resulting in columns.  These columns are mostly 6-sided but some are 5-sided or 7-sided.  They are up to 600 feet tall, making them the largest natural rock columns on earth.   In millions of years, the surrounding sedimentary rocks eroded away leaving Devils Tower standing naked and tall.   In the two pictures above, you see the perfect example.  One of the columns broke leaving the hexagonal underside exposed.  It is center on the top picture, and zoomed in on the second picture.

Here is me at our camp in Devils Tower

Depiction of the Indian legend version of formation of the tower.