Research on the present article began after following a sizeable white rabbit down a very different hole – Article: Floating Sphere or Fixed Circle?

While on that journey, imagery of perhaps the world’s most famous basalt column situated in Wyoming struck a remarkable cord, though more than that, it resonated powerfully on some primal inexplicable level.

So much so, this writer felt compelled to follow this new rabbit hole with considerable fervour.

Yet, this feeling is surely not restricted to this writer alone and other readers will undoubtedly relate.

Acknowledgement and gratitude for the inspiration of this discussion is given to Ewaranon the author of the material presented by Age of Discovery, entitled: What on Earth Happened? YouTube Video, February 2, 2022.

Devils Tower (without an apostrophe) is described as a laccolithic butte (pronounced, ‘beaut’ and not ‘butt’, as amusing as that might be in certain instances), composed of igneous rock. It is located in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming (USA), above the Belle Fourche River.

The formation rises 1,267 feet above the River, standing at an impressive 867 feet from the summit to its base.

Even so, of the top ten tallest buttes in the world, the Devils Tower is ninth tallest. Of the top ten, eight buttes are located in the United States of America.

The word butte is derived from French, where it means a ‘mound’ or ‘knoll’.

A butte is an isolated low mountain or detached hill that rises abruptly (with steep sides) from the surrounding level (plain) area; has sloping or vertical sides and notably, a flat top.

Wyoming Historical Society:

‘Devils Tower is a geological anomaly that defies easy description. To the scientist, it is a rare igneous intrusion; to the climber, it is a premier vertical challenge; but to the Indigenous peoples of the Plains, it is Bear Lodge, a living, breathing place of prayer and the center of the universe.’

The current name of the butte is a historical mistranslation and was the result of a misunderstanding.

Wyoming Historical Society:

‘In 1875, an expedition led by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge [United States Army officer and author from North Carolina (1827–1895)] visited the site.’

‘Dodge’s interpreter reportedly mistranslated the Indigenous name Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge) as “Bad God’s Tower,” which Dodge then shortened to “Devils Tower.”

Theodore Roosevelt the 26th President (1901-1909) immortalised Devils Tower on September 24, 1906 designating it America’s first national monument.

Wyoming Historical Society:

‘In recent years, many tribes and historical groups have petitioned to have the name officially changed back to Bear Lodge, arguing that the current name is culturally insensitive and erases the spiritual significance of the site.

The first recorded ascent of the tower by non-Indigenous people occurred on July 4, 1893. Two local ranchers, William Rogers and Willard Ripley, spent weeks driving wooden stakes into a vertical crack on the southeast face to create a 350-foot ladder.

The Anecdote of the “National Flag”:

On Independence Day, with a crowd of nearly 1,000 spectators watching, Rogers climbed the rickety wooden ladder to the summit and unfurled a large American flag. This event turned the tower into a national sensation. Remarkably, remnants of this 1893 wooden ladder can still be seen today, wedged into the rock [of its Southeast shoulder], serving as a reminder of the daring (and somewhat reckless) spirit of early Wyoming settlers.’

In 1941, George Hopkins a famous parachutist was trapped on the summit for six days when high winds forced rescuers to stay on the ground. Hopkins survived on candy bars dropped by a plane while the nation listened intently on radio.

The butte has become a granite – specifically phonolite (Phonolite is an uncommon extrusive igneous rock that is rich in nepheline and potash feldspar, typically fine-grained and compact. It is known for producing a ringing sound when struck, which is reflected in its name meaning “sounding stone”) – ‘gym in the 20th century’. Where rock climbers venture up the chimneys between the columns.

It is a world-class climbing destination with more than two hundred routes spiralling up from the classic Durrance to modern free climbs.

The National Park Service implements a Voluntary Climbing Closure every June, during which time most climbers choose not to scale the tower out of respect for sacred ceremonies being performed by Indigenous cultures.

There is the Loop Trail, which is a 1.3-mile paved trail circling the base and offers a close-up view of the columns and the boulder field of fallen rocks. As well as Prairie Dog Town, located near the entrance; which is a massive colony of black-tailed prairie dogs endlessly providing entertainment for families and tourists.

Topo Streets, Top 10 Tallest Buttes:

‘Hidden gems… black-footed ferrets – once thought extinct – now hunt there under stars that the tower seems to touch, and every fall turkey vultures kettle overhead, riding thermal pillars that mimic the rock’s geometry.’

‘Lightning loves the tower, and rangers unplug phones during storms because strikes travel down columns, frying anything connected…’

The butte is a geological mystery and for good reason as we shall discover.

Evaluating first the theory and definitions of what the column is considered to constitute.

Wyoming Historical Society – emphasis mine:

‘Geologists agree that Devils Tower was formed about 50 million years ago, but the exact mechanism remains a subject of debate. The most widely accepted theory is that it is an igneous intrusion [a laccolith, or a volcanic neck that never quite erupted]: magma that is pushed up into sedimentary rock layers but cooled underground.

Over millions of years, the softer sedimentary rock eroded away, leaving the hard phonolite porphyry tower exposed. The tower’s most striking feature is its columnar jointing. As the magma cooled, it contracted, cracking into the vertical hexagonal columns [reminiscent of organ pipes] we see today. These are the largest [tallest and widest, some twenty feet across extending almost the entire height] and most perfect examples of such [Basalt] columns in the world.’

Basalt:

‘Basalt is a fine-grained extrusive igneous [volcanic] rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron. It constitutes more than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth and is also found on other planetary bodies in the Solar System.’

Laccolith:

‘A laccolith is a body of intrusive [igneous] rock with a dome-shaped upper surface and a level base, fed by a conduit from below. A laccolith forms when magma rising through the Earth’s crust begins to spread out horizontally [between layers of sedimentary rock], prying apart the host rock strata [resulting in uplift].’

Igneous:

‘Igneous rock, or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or [molten] lava.’

The date is a reckless exaggeration (Appendix IV: An Unconventional Chronology) and it is no surprise that there is debate amongst geologists as no evidence exists of any conduit beneath the column producing the magma required to form a butte.

Regardless, how could a solidified lava flow produce such perfectly shaped hexagonal grooves hundreds of feet high?

This leads to an intriguing consideration… what if the tower were originally far taller?

There are three factors to support this hypothesis.

A. The myriad individual hexagonal towers resemble fibres and like fibres some have become loose over time and break away from the overall mass.

These gigantic strands appear to be actually the petrified remains of the epidermis layer of cells that comprise plant stems or in this case, the trunk of a… tree.

What is also fascinatingly clear is how the fluted tubing does not enter the ground vertically but bends at the base of the structure…

… just like it would for a tree.

B. Look closely at the butte and be honest at what you see serious reader.

The butte looks like a stump of a tree. It has a flat surface, a top indicative of being cut or sawn no less.

C. Native American Indian legend hints to a structure originally of greater height.

Wyoming Historical Society – emphasis mine:

‘Long before it was designated as America’s first National Monument in 1906, the tower was, and remains, sacred to over 20 different tribes, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho. Most tribes refer to it as Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge [Bear’s House]) or Bear’s Tipi.

While each tribe has its own specific traditions, the Creation Stories share a powerful theme: the tower was raised by the Great Spirit to protect children from a giant bear.

The Kiowa and Lakota Tradition:

Seven little girls were playing in the forest when they were chased by a massive bear. They jumped onto a small rock, and the Great Spirit, seeing their plight, caused the rock to grow toward the sky. The bear, desperate to reach them, clawed at the sides of the rising mountain, creating the deep vertical furrows we see today. The girls were pushed into the sky and became the “The Seven Sisters” – the Pleiades stars.

The Cheyenne Tradition:

In their version, the Great Spirit raised the rock to protect the wives of several hunters. One of the hunters killed the bear with a magical arrow, and the bear’s spirit remained within the stone.

The Crow Tradition:

They tell of two boys who were chased by a bear. The Great Spirit told them to close their eyes, and when they opened them, they were on top of the tower. The bear attempted to climb the rock, but his claws only left deep marks in the stone before he fell and died at the base.

For these tribes, the tower is more significant than a monument; it is a teaching stone. The deep grooves are physical evidence of the Creator’s protection. To this day, the tower is a site for Vision Quests, Sun Dances, and Sacred Pipe ceremonies. Visitors will often see colorful prayer cloths tied to the trees at the base; these are personal offerings and should never be touched or moved.’

The mentioning of the seven star asterism, the Pleiades and the repeated presence of a bear are worth discussing. For these have been investigated at length in previous articles and particularly in The Pyramid Perplexity.

The Celestial Ship Of The North, E Valentia Straiton, first published circa 1900 – emphasis mine:

‘There is a tradition that the first great tree of earth was hung with clusters of beautiful stars or constellations… The Tree in the beginning was single, feminine, the Mother, the nourisher of life [Genesis 2:17; 3:3]. When the heavens divided, there were two branches. Then there were four, the four quarters of the four cardinal points of the world [Genesis 2:10], and then it became seven-branched, and these were the seven constellations revolving around the Pole, or the Seven Stars of the Great Bear.’

The Pyramid Perplexity:

The Ursa Major constellation is situated in the northern sky. Its name means ‘the great bear’ or ‘the larger bear’ in Latin.

Ursa Major is the largest northern constellation and third largest constellation in the sky. Its brightest stars form the Big Dipper asterism – the tail of the bear – one of the most well known shapes in the sky, also known as the Plough and the Wagon. 

Katie Wareham:

‘The seven stars that create the Big Dipper’s recognizable ladle make up the bear’s uniquely long tail.’

The seven stars in Amerindian legend can refer to the Pleiades as well as the seven stars which form the tail of the Bear.

‘In Greek mythology, Ursa Major represents Callisto, a beautiful nymph and huntress with whom Zeus, the god of the sky, fell in love. Zeus fathered Callisto’s son, Arcas, and out of jealousy Hera, Zeus’s wife, turned Callisto into a bear forcing her to spend the rest of her life roaming the woods.

Years later, Callisto’s son Arcas became a great hunter himself. One day, he encountered a bear in the woods and took chase not knowing the true identity of the bear was his mother.’ [This reminds of Nimrod the hunter and his mother Semiramis] ‘Zeus stopped Arcas just before he threw his spear to kill her. In order to protect her, Zeus hoisted Callisto into the sky by her tail, stretching it to an abnormal length.’

‘There are numerous versions of this myth. In one version of the story, both Callisto and Arcas were thrown to the heavens, becoming Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (“Little Bear”). They were forced to circle the North Star and never allowed to rest beneath the ocean, explaining why the constellation is visible in the Northern Hemisphere year-round.’

Another version has Arcas turned into the constellation Bootes, the Herdsman.

‘In some Native American cultures, the three stars in Ursa Major’s tail represent three hunters pursuing a bear. The hunt lasts from spring to autumn, until the hunters finally pierce the bear with their arrows. The constellation drops much closer to the horizon in the fall and the blood from the wounded bear spills onto the earth, changing the colors of the leaves.’

Constellation Guide:

‘The Big Dipper is… very useful in navigation as it points the way to Polaris, the North Star (Alpha Ursae Minoris), which is a part of another famous asterism, the Little Dipper in Ursa Minor constellation. If you follow the imaginary line from Merak to Dubhe and continue the arc, you will eventually reach the Northern Star.’

Katie Wareham:

‘The Big Dipper can help beginning astronomers identify the North Star, Polaris.

Constellation Guide:

‘Similarly, the imaginary line that stretches along the handle of the Dipper leads to the bright star Arcturus, the bear keeper, located in the constellation  Bootes…’ – Job 38:32.

Ursa Major is mentioned twice in the Bible, in the Book of Job. 

Job 9:9
Easy English Bible 

‘He put the groups of stars in their places. He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades. He put the groups of stars in the southern sky.’

This verse clearly states groups of stars or rather constellations; so that while some translations state Arcturus instead of the Bear, this is an incorrect and misleading rendition in naming a star in the context of this verse. Thus the use of Bear – as in the Great Bear – is in keeping with Orion and the Pleiades cluster, part of the Taurus Constellation. The verse also separates all three as northern constellations and distinct from the constellations in the Southern Hemisphere.

Job 38:32-33 
English Standard Version 

“Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth [H4216 – Mazzarah: 12 signs of the Zodiac and their 36 associated constellations] in their season [precession of the equinoxes], or can you guide the Bear [H5906 – ‘Ayish: Ursa Major constellation] with its children?

[Arcturus, also known as ‘Job’s Star’: a red giant star; 3rd single brightest star in the night sky; in the Bootes (the herdsman) constellation, to the west of Ursa Major] 

Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule [H4896 – mishtar: dominion, authority] on the earth?”

Certain translations use the word Arcturus instead of Bear. Though the Hebrew word (H5906) means either Great Bear (or Ursa Major).

For example, the GW translation uses Ursa Major. Similarly, other translations use the word cubs [for a bear] instead of children. The NASB uses the equally appropriate word, satellites [indicating Ursa Major and perhaps Ursa Minor with Polaris].

Yet the inference may be in relation to Arcturus and the stars of the Bootes Constellation, with Ursa Major which ‘[migrates] through the heavens.’ Notice how Bootes follows behind the tail and hind quarters of the Great Bear. 

Interestingly, the traditional name Arcturus is Latinised from the ancient Greek Arktouros, which means, ‘Guardian of the Bear’; derived from arktos, ‘bear’ and ouros, ‘watcher, guardian.’

Encyclopaedia:

One astronomical tradition associates Arcturus with the mythology around Arcas, who was about to shoot and kill his own mother Callisto who had been transformed into a bear. Zeus averted their imminent tragic fate by transforming the boy into the constellation Boötes, called Arctophylax “bear guardian” by the Greeks, and his mother into Ursa Major (Greek: Arctos “the bear”).’ 

The relationship between the Big Bear, whether the constellation Ursa Major or the star Arcturus with the North Pole Star Polaris, is laden with both symbolic and literal significance, explored in the article: The Pyramid Perplexity.

The fact that the Devils Tower butte is enveloped in all this legend and symbolism is curious.

In accordance with a monopole understanding of the Earth, a prominent (tall) tree would be pointing toward the north and consequently the Pole star, which incidentally is in the Little Bear Constellation (Ursa Minor) – Article: Floating Sphere or Fixed Circle?

The mystery of Devils Tower doesn’t end there.

On a personal note, recall when introducing the topic it was admitted how I felt a pull towards this enigmatic structure. Forgotten, was the fact I went to see the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977 when I was a child.

What is remembered is that the film was long and at the end of it all, I had little clue what was going on. Regrettably, watching it years later, only produced the same result. Imagine my surprise while researching, to stumble on Devils Tower starring role in the film. A third – no pun intended – close encounter with the movie by watching it again with this knowledge in the forefront of my mind may be warranted.

For on both viewings, the significance of Devils Tower being

a. a real monument; and

b. the centre piece of the motion picture had somehow escaped me each time.

Now – though unlike Richard Dreyfuss’s character, Roy Neary’s compulsive obsession with the tower – this writer shares more than a passing interest in Devils Tower.

Wyoming Historical Society:

‘In 1977, Devils Tower entered the global pop-culture lexicon when it was featured as the landing site for the mothership in Steven Spielberg’s film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The movie’s portrayal of the tower as a cosmic beacon transformed it into a destination for UFO enthusiasts and increased annual tourism significantly. For many, the film captured the “otherworldly” feeling that the tower naturally evokes.

There is no doubt in this writer’s view that the butte in Wyoming is the base of a (gigantic) petrified tree.

Therefore what was once a wooden tree is now a ‘stone’ stump.

Online Encyclopaedia:

‘Petrified wood is the name given to a special type of fossilized wood, the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. Petrifaction, is the result of a tree or tree-like plants having been replaced by stone via a mineralization process that often includes permineralization and replacement.’

‘The organic materials making up cell walls have been replicated with minerals. In some instances, the original structure of the stem tissue may be partially retained [above and below]. Unlike other plant fossils, which are typically impressions or compressions, petrified wood is a three-dimensional representation of the original organic material.’

It is noteworthy that trees were also given a supporting staring role in Peter Jackson’s the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Author and philologist J R R Tolkien (John Ronald Reuel Tolkien) ‘loved trees, especially this black pine in the Oxford Botanic Garden (below), and was often photographed with them. His grandson Michael took the last known photograph of him with this tree, which he named Laocoon.’

Encyclopaedia:

‘Trees play multiple roles in… Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle-earth, some such as Old Man Willow… a malign and fallen tree-spirit of great age, controlling much of the forest… actually serving as characters in the plot. Both for Tolkien personally, and in his Middle-earth writings, caring about trees really mattered.’

Indeed, the Tolkien scholar Matthew Dickerson wrote “It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of trees in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien.”

Treebeard

‘Tolkien stated that primaeval human understanding was communion with other living things, including trees. Treebeard, a tree-giant or Ent, herds trees including the Huorns which are halfway between Ents and trees, either becoming animated or reverting to becoming treelike.’

The Coast Redwood tree (Sequoia sempervirens) is the tallest tree species in the world.

The world’s tallest tree is the Coast Redwood tree named Hyperion and was discovered in 2006 by two naturalists: Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. They were bushwhacking through a remote area of Redwood National Park.

Hyperion

The previous month they had found three other behemoth coast redwoods in a nearby grove; each measuring, 375 feet (114.09 meters), 371 feet (113.14 meters) and 363 feet (110.76 meters) and named from Greek mythology as Helios, Icarus and Daedalus respectively.

These three trees became the tallest in the world for a month until Atkins and Taylor discovered Hyperion. The world’s largest tree is as tall as a 35-story building (and taller than Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty) at 381.3 feet (116.22 metres) as of 2026. The tree contains approximately 530 cubic metres (18,600 cubic feet) of wood.

Hyperion’s age is estimated to be between six hundred and eight hundred years old, which is relatively young as coast redwoods have been known to live for over two thousand years.

The exact location of Hyperion is a secret and luckily the tree is located in a remote area of Redwood National Park which has been closed to the public to protect its fragile ecosystem from damage caused by visitors trying to climb it or carve their initials on its bark.

‘The coast redwood’s remarkable height makes it a significant species in the natural world, and Hyperion stands as a testament to the grandeur of these trees.’

The circumference of Hyperion is between 15.2 feet (4.63 metres) and 16 feet (4.94 metres). The ratio between base trunk circumference and height for a tree averages between 1/10 and 1/20, though for a coast redwood it can be 1/40. Thus Hyperion could grow to as high as six hundred feet.

The circumference of the Devils Tower butte is (approximately) a staggering 5,280 feet (one mile) at its base. This measurement highlights the tower’s impressive size and prominence in the surrounding landscape.

Yet this is just the stump.

There are a few points to consider in estimating the tree’s original height. If one were to even use 1/10 as a ratio, the tree would not have been ten miles high.

Assessing the statistics for the ‘Big Tree’ Redwood in the photo above, its ratio of circumference is approximately 1/4 (H: 286.08 feet / C: 74.57 feet = 3.836).

Judging by the proportion of the Big Tree coupled with the Devils Tower butte, halving the 5,280 foot circumference to 2640 feet is a realistic figure to compute its potential height. Multiplying this number by 3.836 gives an incredible height of 10,127.04 feet or an amazing 1.92 miles.

The likelihood of the ‘Big Bear’ tree (forgive this writer in renaming the former tree now stump) being full grown is likely remote and so nearly two miles high is a maximum figure. Thus Big Bear tree may have still been a stupendous half a mile to a mile high.

Farfetched?

Well, we will address the physical science shortly.

As interesting and realistic points of reference, the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, standing at an impressive 2,717 feet or 828 metres tall (0.51 miles.) It has held this title since its completion in 2010.

In comparison, the tallest mountain peak in the world is Mount Everest at 29,032 feet (5.5 miles).

While there are numerous examples of stumps around the world, the best collection of buttes are located in the United States.

Stumps which appear to have been cut flat by a saw (or laser) can be found in: Venezuela, Tunisia, Canada, Ethiopia, Greece, Australia, Sao Tome and Senegal.

Residue of stumps which do not exhibit a clean cut and may have been subject to a violent force (explosion) exist in: France, Italy, Greenland, Chile, China, Pakistan, Russia, New Mexico and Scotland.

Let’s look at some of the best and more interesting buttes which suspiciously look like stumps of former trees, though are perhaps older than the Big Bear tree.

Square Butte, Cascade County, Montana, USA – 8th tallest butte in the world.

Top 10 Tallest Buttes:

‘[A] 2,400-foot laccolith rising blocky and aloof above central Montana’s prairie, its top a near-perfect plateau a mile across, its sides talus-choked cliffs of shonkinite and syenite [Shonkinite is a rare, dark-colored intrusive igneous rock primarily composed of augite and orthoclase feldspar, with other minerals like olivine and biotite. It is mainly found in Montana, Ontario and Indonesia]… “Square” is a misnomer from certain angles; from others [its] trapezoidal… lightning [hits] it more than any other hill around…

The shonkinite is so tough that glacial ice flowing during Pleistocene cold snaps parted around it like a stream around a stump, leaving striations visible on nearby softer knobs but not on the butte’s armor. Today, wind turbines blink red like UFO beacons on ridges to the north, while Square Butte sits dark, unmechanized… Square Butte’s sheer rise makes it one of the tallest true buttes by relief, but its real heft is cultural – a landmark painted, written about, and used as a weathervane by generations who learned to read sky and rock for a living.’

Bear Butte (Mato Paha), South Dakota, USA – 4th tallest butte in the world (not to be confused with a bare butt).

Top 10 Tallest Buttes:

‘Bear Butte [notice the word, ‘bear’] rises off the western South Dakota prairie like a stone prayer, an igneous laccolith forced up through sedimentary beds… now eroded to a 1,250-foot prominence [with an approximate base circumference of seven miles] that Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho have visited for visions and vows for centuries. Walk the summit trail and you pass hundreds of prayer cloths fluttering from junipers – red, yellow, blue, white – each tied with tobacco and intention, a reminder that this is a living altar, not just a hike.

Geologically, Bear Butte is a cousin to Devil’s Tower and the Black Hills’ granite needles: magma intruded, lifted, then cooled before reaching the surface [supposedly], leaving a hard core exposed as the softer shell weathered away. Hidden in its gullies are fossil leaves from ancient floodplain forests, a weird juxtaposition with the basalt columns overhead…to the Lakota this is the “mountain of the bear,” a place where the spirits of the four directions converge.

Lightning frequently arcs to its summit cross (leftover from a 1950s church project), and park rangers tell of storms where hair stood on end along the ridge, hikers dropping poles and crouching in “lightning position” as the sky growled.

From the top you see five states on a clear day – Wyoming’s Devils Tower pokes the horizon like a chess piece, the Badlands gashed to the east, the Black Hills’ dark humps to the south – and the Missouri’s ghost line far beyond. Bear Butte isn’t the tallest butte by raw numbers, but in spiritual tonnage it may be unmatched, a reminder that elevation is just one dimension of height.’

West Pawnee and East Pawnee Butte

The Pawnee Buttes are two prominent buttes in northeastern Colorado.

The west butte rears up over the surrounding High Plains region within the Pawnee National Grassland.

The east butte is less accessible to the public, set as it is on private land in Weld County.

Pilot Butte

‘The flattop Pilot Butte blisters out of the countryside in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.’

Tower Butte

‘At 1,611 m (5,287 ft), the aptly named Tower Butte dominates the desert landscape by Lake Powell. The colossal butte is located near the town of Page, Arizona.’

Courthouse and Jail Rock, Nebraska

‘Further back along the trail is Courthouse Rock (right) and Jail Rock (left), the first monumental rock features that emigrants would encounter heading west. The buttes also served as an important crossroads, where two major trunks of the Oregon and California Overland trails merged.’

Scotts Bluff, Nebraska

‘Towering 243 m (800 ft) above the North Platter River, Scotts Bluff National Monument in Nebraska stands as the most imposing natural feature in the region. While not technically a butte, Scotts Bluff nonetheless served as an important landmark on the Oregon Trail, when over 250,000 westward emigrants passed by the huge monolith between 1843 and 1869.’

Fajada Butte, New Mexico

‘A sacred location of the Chacoan people, Fajada Butte in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, in northwest New Mexico, features the ruins of small cliff dwellings near its summit.’

Bell Rock, Arizona

‘The Courthouse Butte Loop Trail also takes in the beautiful Bell Rock formation, another butte and set west of its larger, more prominent cousin but no less appealing as a popular landmark and visitor attraction.’

Courthouse Butte, Arizona

‘Located south of Sedona, Courthouse Butte overlooks a hiking trail that loops around this well-known Arizona landmark.’

East Mitten and West Mitten Butte, Utah-Arizona

West Mitten Butte (left); East Mitten Butte (right)

‘East Mitten is slightly taller, at 1,898 m (6,226 ft). The buttes are so named because when viewed from the south they appear to be two giant mittens with their thumbs facing inwards.

The Mittens form a triangle with Merrick Butte, and all three have served as an impressive backdrop for countless Western movies.’

‘The Mitten Buttes of Monument Valley near the Utah-Arizona state line are two of the nation’s most distinctive and widely recognized buttes. The summit of West Mitten Butte is 1,882 m (6,176 ft).’

Merrick Butte, Arizona

‘The mighty Merrick Butte in Monument Valley in Arizona, one of the world’s great natural wonders,  stands 1,892 m (6,206 ft) at its highest point.’ According to Navajo legend, the three buttes are carcasses of defeated monsters.

If readers are still persevering, then it is hoped they have witnessed with their own eyes, recognising how the misnamed Devils Tower was originally an organic life form since petrified. The rock stump standing there now was previously wood and is the evidence of where a tree once stood.

Even if Big Bear tree was a quarter mile tall, it was ginormous. That said, it may not have been as tall as proposed and perhaps the wider width to height ratio as proportioned below.

To endeavour to explain the potential size of the Big Bear tree we need to back track a little.

In previous articles, the subject of the climate and atmosphere were touched upon to explain the enormous size of creatures and foliage in the antediluvian age as well as more importantly, the excessive life spans of if not flora and fauna, particularly of humankind – Chapter XXII Alpha & Omega; Chapter I Noah Antecessor Nulla; and Younger Dryas Stadial: Ending of the Earth… Beginning of the World.

While the chemistry during this archaic epoch was considered – with regard to a different ratio of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere as well as the canopy of water in the firmament filtering ultra-violet light – the building blocks of life forms were not specifically contemplated.

Thus a different combination of carbon and oxygen molecules may have played a part during the transition between the epochs and the lengthy ages of patriarchs following the Flood up until the time of Abraham – Appendix IV: An Unconventional Chronology.

It is not unrealistic to consider an entirely different chemical process before the flood cataclysm. Therefore if this age is a Carbon based world, then an option which has come to this writer’s attention (Age of Discovery) and deserves consideration until a viable alternative answer is presented… is a Silicon based world.

A human is composed primarily of water (H2O), with oxygen the main element (65%) and hydrogen third (9.5%). Nitrogen is fourth (3.3%); Calcium is fifth (1.3%); and Phosphorus is sixth (0.6%).

Carbon is the second most common element in our bodies by mass (18.5%). Carbon is essential for numerous biological functions, playing a crucial role in the structure and function of cells and tissues and is primarily found in organic molecules, including, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

Carbon in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) is found minutely in the air and constitutes about 0.04% of the Earth’s atmosphere. This percentage equals approximately 420 parts per million (ppm). Water vapour comprises up to 4% of the atmosphere; Argon 0.93%; Oxygen 20.95%; and nitrogen is the most abundant gas at 78.08%.

Scientists agree on other forms of biochemistry being possible, though are reticent in considering any have existed prior to Carbon compounds which are found presently in all living organisms on Earth – at time of writing at least. Similarly, all organisms use ‘water as a solvent, and deoxyribonucleic acid or ribonucleic acid to define and control their form.’

Encyclopaedia:

‘If life exists on other celestial bodies, it may be chemically similar, though it is also possible that there are organisms with quite different chemistries – for instance, involving other classes of carbon compounds, compounds of another element, and/or another solvent in place of water.’

Step in Silicon biochemistry (organosilicon), which like carbon, silicon can create molecules that are sufficiently large to carry biological information. Yet supposedly, ‘the scope of possible silicon chemistry is far more limited than that of carbon.’

So it is noteworthy that the false-color Cassini radar mosaic, highlights in Titan’s (the largest moon orbiting Saturn) north polar region, areas in blue where there are lakes of liquid hydrocarbons.

“The existence of lakes of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan opens up the possibility for solvents and energy sources that are alternatives to those in our biosphere and that might support novel life forms altogether different from those on Earth.”—NASA Astrobiology Roadmap 2008.

As Silicon shares similar chemical properties to carbon it could potentially support life in environments where carbon was less available. Thus why not before the present carbon era?

The chemical properties of Silicon which are similar to Carbon:

Tetravalency: Like carbon, silicon can form four bonds with other elements.

Molecular Complexity: Silicon can create large molecules, which are essential for carrying biological information.

Silicon’s differences with Carbon:

Bond Strength: Silicon forms weaker covalent bonds compared to carbon, which ‘may’ limit the complexity of silicon-based compounds.

This would not be an issue regarding genetic information for simpler life forms such as plants, trees and dinosaurs.

Atomic Radius: Silicon has a larger atomic radius, affecting its reactivity and the types of compounds it can form.

Science states potential environments for silicon based life would thrive where

a. carbon is scarce;

b. temperatures are high (where silicon compounds remain more stable; and

c. extraterrestrial settings (where liquid hydrocarbons exist).

Perhaps an earlier Earth during the Adamic age, possessed the first two of these criteria by degree. Support for this position is found in the fact that silicon is more frequent in the Earth’s crust than carbon.

Why?

Scientists posit that the challenge to a silicon based Earth are

a. Lower Diversity, as silicon-based compounds are less diverse than carbon-based ones, limiting potential biological functions; and

b. Stability Issues, because many silicon compounds are unstable and decompose easily, which could hinder the development of complex life forms.

Put another way, detriments to silicon based life forms include the following.

Energy Sources:

Life requires a reliable energy source. Silicon’s reactions with oxygen produce stable compounds that cannot be easily eliminated, posing a challenge for metabolism.

Chemical Properties:

Silicon does not form many chiral compounds, which are crucial for biological processes. This limits the potential for complex life forms.

Environmental Conditions:

Silicon-based life would require specific conditions, such as high temperatures, which may not be conducive to the development of life as we know it.

Thus from a scientific perspective silicon based life on Earth is an intriguing concept but remains a theoretical and speculative idea. Yet when has a theory stopped them from espousing it as fact? As with Evolution, where there are far more challenges to the theory than a Silicon based Earth in our distant past – Article: Chance Chaos or Designated Design?

A summary comparison of Carbon and Silicon

Abundance:

Carbon is more common in the universe than Silicon.

Complexity of Chemistry:

Carbon is highly complex and forms diverse compounds; whereas Silicon is less complex with fewer functional groups.

Bonding:

Carbon forms stronger covalent bonds.

Stability of Compounds:

Carbon is stable at a wide range of temperatures; yet Silicon is less stable, often found in inert compounds.

Biological Role:

Carbon is essential for all known life (presently); but there are no known life forms based on Silicon.

Whether these apparent stumbling blocks are a genuine hindrance or not is anyone’s guess.

Science fiction invariably becomes science fact and so perhaps the Horta from the famous Star Trek episode ‘The Devil in the Dark’, or the silicon life forms in Isaac Asimov’s short story, ‘The Talking Stone’ are not so far-fetched.

Notice both the words devil and stone in regard to the ‘stone’ Devils Tower.

Janusz Petkowski and co-authors from the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT produced a paper whereby they provided a comparison of the chemical reactivity of carbon and silicon. In the process they included numerous examples of how silicon is used by life on Earth and what type of silicon compounds exist in our own environment.

Even so, there are not many organic silicon compounds and silicon based life in water or on an oxygen rich planet would be challenging, as any free silicon would apparently react quickly to form silicate rock.

What is interesting though is a hypothesized carbon planet which would contain more carbon than oxygen. This might be a component of an ancient silicon based Earth where as previously presented, the carbon to oxygen ratio was different. Though more carbon than oxygen is likely inaccurate in this instance; with rather just a perceptible increase in carbon in still an oxygen dominated atmosphere (nitrogen not withstanding).

Carbon

Silicon-Based Life May Be More Than Just Science Fiction – Scientists are showing that nature can evolve to incorporate silicon into carbon-based molecules – the building blocks of life on Earth.

Charles Q Choi, April 19, 2017 – emphasis mine:

‘Scientists have long known that life on Earth is capable of chemically manipulating silicon. For instance, microscopic particles of silicon dioxide called phytoliths can be found in grasses and other plants, and photosynthetic algae known as diatoms incorporate silicon dioxide into their skeletons.

However, there are no known natural instances of life on Earth combining silicon and carbon together into molecules.

Still, chemists have artificially synthesized molecules comprised of both silicon and carbon. These organo-silicon compounds are found in a wide range of products, including pharmaceuticals, sealants, caulks, adhesives, paints, herbicides, fungicides, and computer and television screens.

Now, scientists have discovered a way to coax biology to chemically bond carbon and silicon together.

The researchers steered microbes into creating molecules never before seen in nature through a strategy known as ‘directed evolution’… Just as farmers have long modified crops and livestock by breeding generations of organisms for the traits they want to appear, so too have scientists bred microbes to create the molecules they desire.

Scientists have used directed evolutionary strategies for years to create household goods such as detergents and to develop environmentally-friendly ways to make pharmaceuticals, fuels and other industrial products. (Conventional chemical manufacturing processes can require toxic chemicals; in contrast, directed evolutionary strategies use living organisms to create molecules and generally avoid chemistry that would prove harmful to life).’

“In the universe of possibilities that exist for life, we’ve shown that it is a very easy possibility for life as we know it to include silicon in organic molecules and once you can do it somewhere in the universe, it’s probably being done.”

‘It remains an open question why life on Earth is based on carbon when silicon is more prevalent in Earth’s crust.’

Now there’s the question. Perhaps the obvious answer is staring everyone in the face?

‘Previous research suggests that compared to carbon, silicon can form chemical bonds with fewer kinds of atoms, and it often forms less complex kinds of molecular structures with the atoms that it can interact with.’

This might not be the disadvantage scientists think it is. It may be the reason behind the gigantic size of flora and fauna in the past.

‘By giving life the ability to create organo-silicon compounds, future research can test why life here or elsewhere may or may not have evolved to incorporate silicon into biological molecules.’

An interesting sentence and one where the author shows leeway in a possible past where silicon was more prominent.

Silicon

Facts About Silicon, Stephanie Pappas, April 27, 2018 – emphasis mine:

‘Silicon is the element to thank for the computer you’re using… A crucial component in microelectronics and computer chips, this extremely common element is also responsible for warm, white beaches – silica, an oxide of silicon, is the most common component of sand.

In nature, silicon is… usually found linked up with a pair of oxygen molecules as silicon dioxide, otherwise known as silica. Quartz, an abundant ingredient in sand, is made up of non-crystallized silica.’

‘Silicon is neither metal nor non-metal; it’s a metalloid… with… properties of both metals and non-metals. Silicon is a semiconductor, meaning that it does conduct electricity. Unlike a typical metal, however, silicon gets better at conducting electricity as the temperature increases (metals get worse at conductivity at higher temperatures).

Silicon was first isolated in 1824 by Swedish chemist Jöns Jacob Berzelius, who also discovered cerium, selenium and thorium… Berzelius heated silica with potassium to purify silicon… but today the refinement process heats carbon with silica in the form of sand to isolate the element.

Silicon is a main ingredient in very low-tech creations, including bricks and ceramics. But the high-tech stuff is where the element really makes its mark. As a semiconductor, silicon is used to make transistors, which amplify or switch electrical currents and are the backbone of electronics from radios to iPhones.

Today’s silicon research sounds just short of sci-fi: In 2006, researchers announced they had created a computer chip that melded silicon components with brain cells. Electrical signals from the brain cells could be transmitted to the electronic silicon components of the chip, and vice versa. The hope is to eventually create electronic devices to treat neurological disorders.

Silicon also has promise in the creation of incredibly tiny lasers called nanoneedles, which can be used to transmit data faster and more efficiently than traditional optical cables. Superconductor lasers shed heat much easier than glass lasers… That means they can boast more power than traditional lasers.

Silicon isn’t the same thing as silicone, that famous polymer found in breast implants, menstrual cups and other medical technology. Silicone is made of silicon along with oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. Because it resists heat so well, silicone has increasingly been used to make kitchen tools, such as oven mitts and baking sheets.

Silicon can be dangerous. When inhaled over long periods of time, it can cause a lung disease known as silicosis.

Love the iridescence of an opal? Thank silicon. The gemstone is a form of silica bound with water molecules.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is almost as hard as a diamond… It ranks a 9-9.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, slightly less than diamond, which has a hardness of 10.

Plants use silicon to strengthen their cell walls.

The element appears to be an important nutrient that helps confer resistance to disease…

Silicon Valley [in California] gets its name from the silicon used in computer chips. The nickname first appeared in 1971 in the newspaper “Electronic News”.’

What Would Silicon-Based Life Look Like? Speculations on Alien Biochemistry,

A Merriam, October 26, 2023 – emphasis mine:

‘If we wish to explore the potential diversity and prevalence of life in the cosmos, we must question whether carbon is the sole option. One of the most popular alternatives, often depicted in science fiction, is silicon-based life, such as the colossal space worm in Star Wars and xenomorphs [in the Alien series of films].’

‘It’s because it represents one of the most promising non-carbon candidates due to its chemical similarities. Furthermore, silicon is more abundant on Earth’s crust than carbon. So, could life potentially be based on silicon?

And if so, why aren’t we silicon-based ourselves?

… the types of chemical bonds that an element can form… fall into three categories: ionic, metallic, and covalent. Ionic bonds tend to be excessively unstable, while metallic bonds generate repetitive crystalline structures lacking the diversity necessary for life.

Consequently, we are left with covalent bonds as the primary option.

In covalent bonds, atoms share electrons with one or more neighboring atoms to complete their outer or valence electron shells. Take carbon, for instance, which possesses 4 valence electrons but requires 8 for optimal stability. It achieves this stability by forming connections with, let’s say, 4 hydrogen atoms and sharing their individual electrons. This, in turn, gives each of those hydrogen atoms an additional electron to satisfy their own valence shells, resulting in the formation of methane.

What’s truly fascinating about covalent bonds is the myriad of possibilities for arranging this electron sharing, leading to a range of diversity. For example, if we eliminate one hydrogen atom from two methane molecules and combine them, we form ethane. Further, by substituting one of the hydrogens with oxygen, we create ethanol.

Covalent bonds serve as the fundamental foundation for the complex molecular structures essential for life.

The majority of elements in the periodic table typically engage in ionic or metallic bonding, making them less relevant for our purposes. Noble gases are also excluded due to their inert nature, and halogens are problematic since they don’t readily form covalent bonds with multiple elements simultaneously and tend to react explosively. Additionally, some elements that can form covalent bonds are ruled out because their atoms are excessively large, leading to insufficient nuclear electron retention.

In the end, we are left with a selected group of elements:

hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, phosphorus, and sulfur.

These elements constitute the fundamental building blocks of life on Earth, with the exception of silicon, while other periodic table elements are occasionally employed by living organisms for specific, specialized functions.

Of all the elements, carbon is the most crucial, as it serves as the foundational framework for all biochemistry. This is primarily due to its ability to create bonds with itself in a variety of ways. In fact, among the six fundamental building blocks of life, only carbon has the capacity to form 1D and 2D structures with itself.

However, the question remains: why did evolution sideline silicon?’

Perhaps because the size and length of age of life forms before the Flood required a drastic reduction. So that silicon based life wasn’t sidelined from originally existing but rather replaced by a predominant carbon based world.

‘Despite its chemical similarity to carbon, with its 4 valence electrons capable of forming extended chains and molecules possessing properties akin to those formed with carbon, Earth’s life forms make limited use of silicon. This appears perplexing, especially when considering that silicon accounts for over 28% of Earth’s crust mass, predominantly in the form of silicate rocks, while carbon comprises just around 0.02% of the Earth’s crust [yes indeed].

This discrepancy underscores the significant advantages carbon holds over silicon.’

Only in this current age where the ratio of carbon was altered, no doubt in synchronism with the replacement of silicon.

‘Now, let’s examine some of the challenges associated with silicon as a foundation for life.

1# Reactivity with water

The primary concern lies in the fact that silicon-based molecules exhibit considerably greater reactivity with water compared to their carbon-based counterparts. This poses a potential issue for a planet like Earth, which is predominantly water-based.

In general, life requires a solvent, a liquid medium that facilitates the movement and interaction of molecular components, and water excels in this role. Its exceptional thermal stability, versatility as a solvent, and widespread presence throughout the universe make it the most suitable and practically the only viable choice as a foundational solvent for life.

Hence, the instability of silicon molecules in water significantly hampers the feasibility of silicon-based life. Nevertheless, when water isn’t the sole option, many silicon-based molecules prove stable in liquid hydrocarbons, which are prevalent on the moons of gas giants, or even in sulfuric acid, abundant in Venus’s atmosphere. Both of these alternative solvents come with their own set of challenges when it comes to initiating life. For instance, liquid hydrocarbons are extremely cold, and sulfuric acid is exceedingly chemically aggressive.

However, there is one potential avenue to introduce silicon-based life in a water-based environment, which involves coupling silicon with either carbon or oxygen. Chains formed by these pairs of atoms can introduce some chemical diversity, but this approach would offer no significant advantage over employing carbon chains alone.’

Agreed, it doesn’t ostensibly offer an advantage. Though it may have still been the scenario prior to the flood cataclysm and somehow integral biologically for earlier life forms.

2# Strong bonding with oxygen

‘Another factor rendering silicon-based life improbable is its inherent affinity for forming strong bonds with oxygen. Silicon-based molecules are prone to break apart in the presence of oxygen, and silicon-oxygen bonds are notoriously resistant to decomposition.

Consequently, reactions involving silicon and oxygen tend to proceed in a unidirectional manner when ample oxygen is available. This robustness of silicon-oxygen bonds is a key reason why life on Earth seldom incorporates silicon into its chemistry.’

Agreed. Though again, a pre-flood world during the last Ice Age in allowing for the silicon component would have had a different ratio dynamic between oxygen, carbon, nitrogen etc.,

3# Inaccessibility

‘Furthermore, Earth’s silicon is primarily sequestered within rocks, rendering it largely inaccessible to living organisms. In contrast, a substantial portion of Earth’s carbon exists in the form of CO2 in the atmosphere, making it readily accessible, particularly through processes like photosynthesis.

However, the strength of the silicon-oxygen bond can have a beneficial aspect when it comes to energy production. Consider the source of our energy. It primarily derives from the conversion of oxygen molecules, which harbor a significant amount of energy within their bonds, into CO2 molecules, which contain far less energy.

The most straightforward method to harness this energy is through combustion, which is effective for powering steam engines but not suitable for the biochemical processes within our cells. Within our bodies, mitochondria unlock this energy through several additional chemical steps and store it in ATP molecules.

So, is it possible that silicon-based extraterrestrial life forms obtain energy by converting O2 into silicon dioxide (SiO2)?‘

‘On the surface, this may seem promising, given that SiO2 is even more stable than CO2, implying a potentially greater energy yield. However, a significant issue arises – while CO2 is a gas that can be easily expelled from the body, SiO2 is silica, a coarse and abrasive sand. It is unsuitable for constructing cellular structures or serving as a breathable substance for the lungs.

An average individual exhales approximately one kilogram of CO2 in a day, which means silicon-based aliens would expel a substantial quantity of sand, similar to coughing out coarse grains.

In conclusion, while silicon exhibits some chemical versatility for potential alien biochemistry in specific scenarios, these are quite specialized and considerably less favorable compared to the attributes that support carbon-based life.

It’s clear that if given the choice, life would unmistakably opt for carbon.’

In this world, yes.

Perhaps carbon is an improvement on silicon as well as a replacement for an element instrumental in great size and age which had to be replaced regardless.

Alternatively, perhaps plants and trees were solely silicon based, with animals and humans carbon based though differently from today.

‘But what might silicon-based life appear like? Over the years, science fiction writers have envisioned silicon-based life as diverse manifestations of living crystals or rocks, mainly because those are the most prevalent forms of silicon on Earth.

In fact, living silicon crystals already exist on Earth in the form of diatoms, single-celled organisms that have integrated silicon into their cell walls, rendering them rigid. These remarkable living crystals lead rather simple lives, drifting in oceanic waters in lengthy chains while engaging in photosynthesis, contributing to the production of roughly half of the oxygen that we respire.

To be precise, diatoms do not represent a fully silicon-based life form; it’s just their outer cell walls that incorporate silicon. Everything internally remains carbon-based.

Nevertheless, they do serve as evidence that a fundamental component of life, namely the cell wall, can be constructed using silicon.’

For example, the hexagonal columns on the stump of the Big Bear tree.

It is the view of this writer that Big Bear tree is a residue of a bygone age. Whether it was the era preceding the Last glacial Maximum only or included the age after the Younger Dryas Stadial is open to question.

Petrified Wood

The premise offered by Age of Discovery is that Big Bear tree is not a basalt column but a silicon based petrified tree.

Petrified wood (as above) with crystallised quartz patterns

While Silicon is the eighth most abundant element in the universe after hydrogen, helium, oxygen, carbon, neon, iron, and nitrogen; it is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, making up about 28% (by mass), after oxygen – and 150 times more abundant than carbon.

This coupled with the fact that silicon is structurally similar with carbon lends weight to the argument that there were silicon based life forms preceding the current carbon based world.

Life forms in a silicon based world could potentially be larger due to silicon’s ability to form larger molecules compared with carbon.

Thus trees growing to enormous size – as did animals (dinosaurs) – could be explained by this theory.

Silicon and oxygen form quartz crystals – clear, coloured or crystalline.

Quartz is made of silicon and oxygen atoms linked in a continuous framework of SiO₄ silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, giving it the chemical formula SiO₂.

Recall how the striated hexagonal columns on Devils Tower – once Big Bear tree’s stem cells – resemble the quartz fragment below.

Thus in a silicon era where trees grew to enormous height and size they were the source of much of the crystallised quartz on the Earth and the petrified wood we now call rocks and stones, may actually be the evidence of the phase occurring between silicon and carbon based life forms.

Topo Streets, Top 10 Tallest Buttes:

‘… [Devil] tower’s silhouette has graced Close Encounters of the Third Kind, tourist tee-shirts, and countless oil paintings, but nothing beats driving up Highway 24 and seeing it first rise through cottonwoods – a rock that seems too vertical for its surroundings. In winter, rime ice feathers its cracks, and in spring, snow moves like powdered sugar down ledges when sun hits. Devils Tower’s height isn’t record-breaking, but its combination of sheer rise, geometric perfection, and cultural gravity makes it the archetypal butte in many minds – a lone pillar where geology and myth shook hands.’

For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant.

Job 14:7-9 English Standard Version

The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

Daniel 4:11 English Standard Version

“Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.”

Winston Churchill

“Trees indeed have hearts.”

Henry David Thoreau

“The trees will tell their secrets to those that tune in.”

Steven Magee

© Orion Gold 2026 – All rights reserved. Permission to copy, use or distribute, if acknowledgement of the original authorship is attributed to orion-gold.com

Post Scriptum

Readers interested in the Snake Brotherhood responsible for cutting down the Big Bear tree and others like it around the world, are encouraged to investigate the following articles: Nephilim & Elioud Giants I & II; Monoliths of the Nephilim; and Antartica: Secrets of the Lost Continent of Atlantis.