Thanks for your response, yes that is one of four theories. Geologists have not come to a singular conclusion as far as I know, however. So the four competing formation theories are that it was a laccolith, a volcanic neck or plug - and more recently that it could have been a volcano that came in contact with ground water (Maar theory), or a stock. If you have further research I would like to read it!
I’m glad you asked! Devil’s tower is “one of a kind” because the formation of such features are rare. It consists of phonolite porphyry which is an intrusive igneous rock (meaning it formed from cooling magma inside the Earth). Most of the time when you see columnar jointing it is associated with basaltic igneous rocks which are much darker because they contain higher levels of Fe and Mg (mafic) compared to the more silica rich intermediate igneous rocks like the one in question. There are similar geological features, though, including some in Iceland and Scotland (see giants causeway) and as for the hexagonal shape it turns out nature just likes to naturally form them because its easy.
I guess to summarize, there are not many similar formations to compare Devil’s tower to, but those that do exist were formed from different magma (more mafic) and did not erode as gracefully as this formation.
Fun fact: this is the remains of an ancient volcano. The tower that you see here is what is left of a magma chamber or an intrusion of magma into the surrounding sedimentary rocks that solidified, creating hard igneous rock pillars (columnar joints). The rest of the volcano then weathered and eroded over a very long period of time leaving only the hardest rocks.
Monbiat’s frustration and anger really comes through with this opinion piece. I agree with him pretty much entirely. Our planet us reaching or already beyond its limits for several global systems and yet we are doing effectively nothing about it. The inaction, as he highlights, is primarily because the plutocrats think it will be bad for business. We need to be raising hell about this… we’re running toward a massive collapse of modern human civilization.
You can’t know everything, but someone knows what you don’t. Build a community and talk with people - ask questions and form relationships with other gardeners because the passion you feel is shared among many others.
I don’t miss a thing about reddit. I was using the platform for about 9 years and the whole debacle about who gets to profit off our content resulted in me moving to something less shitty. SO far, Lemmy has proven to be what the internet was before big corporations took over and I will stay here. I just started donating to the patreon for lemmy.world (or rather mastadon.world, but same dev) and I intend on staying here. I like the engagement so far and hope that the community sticks with this platform. Thanks to reddits malarkey I was introduced to the fediverse and for that I am thankful
Spot on. The “elites” and their puppets will not face consequences because they designed the system to benefit themselves. He will continue to be a corrupt parasite and make rulings that will take rights away from people not of the moneyed class.
My big Agnes three person ultralight tent. It’s big enough for me, wife, and two dogs to sleep in comfortably. Two doors for ease of access and does well in windy and wet weather. Light enough to carry by myself and the poles are easy to repair. Had a tear in the rainfly a couple years back and they fixed it for a fair price. Excellent tent