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Wyoming Devilstower 8004 Article and Quiz
Wyoming Devilstower 8004 Article and Quiz
How did the columns of Devils Tower form? Was it below the ground or as part of a violent
volcanic eruption?
Prokop Závada is a geologist at The Czech Academy of Sciences in Europe. He and three other
researchers became interested in the mystery of Devils Tower. Geologists study rocks and how the
Earth was formed. They found a clue in another butte in the Czech Republic, a country located in
Eastern Europe. A butte is a hill with steep sides and a flat top. The butte in the Czech Republic is
called Boren. It is similar to Devils Tower, although it is more rounded and covered with trees.
The researchers concluded that Boren was created by a sudden type of volcano called a maar-
diatreme. In this kind of volcano, underground lava touches water. The lava blasts a crater on the
Earth's surface. After the blast, the researchers think, a flat dome of lava filled the crater, acting
like a plug. Wind and rain chipped away at the edges of that dome. Eventually only its core
remained, the butte called Boren.
Devils Tower is very similar to Boren. Because of this, the Czech team decided to see if it was
formed in the same way.
The researchers looked at the two main characteristics of Devils Tower. The first was the shape of
its columns. The second was the position of magnetic minerals within the columns.
The National Park Service is in charge of Devils Tower. It let the researchers collect one rock
sample from the rock formation. The researchers discovered that near the rock's base, tiny needle-
shaped minerals are just about vertical, or up and down. That is the direction the lava flowed
before it hardened. Closer to the top, the minerals turn horizontal, or onto the side.
The vertical columns of Devils Tower matched the pattern exactly. Závada and his team concluded
that Devils Tower was also caused by an underground volcano.
It might be possible to study the similar, if less dramatic, buttes near Devils Tower. They were
likely formed in the same way — with or without the help of giant bears.
1 What is the main idea of the section "49 Million Years Ago"?
(A) Scientists think that Devils Tower is 49 million years old, but that a butte in Europe is older.
(B) Scientists think Devils Tower is 49 million years old, but they are not sure.
(C) Scientists think that Devils Tower was created 49 million years ago as a result of a volcano explosion.
(D) Scientists believe that 49 million years ago there were no rock formations like Devils Tower.
2 Which sentence from the article contains an idea that would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?
(A) Many theories have been suggested over the years. The most popular theories today are that Devils
Tower was born 49 million years ago as a rising half dome of lava.
(B) Prokop Závada is a geologist at The Czech Academy of Sciences in Europe. He and three other
researchers became interested in the mystery of Devils Tower.
(C) The researchers concluded that Boren was created by a sudden type of volcano called a maar-
diatreme. In this kind of volcano, underground lava touches water.
(D) The researchers looked at the two main characteristics of Devils Tower. The first was the shape of its
columns. The second was the position of magnetic minerals within the columns.
(A) to show how a type of volcano explosion might have caused Devils Tower to form
(B) to show how a volcano explosion looks different from Devils Tower
(C) to show that some volcanoes explode high into the air and others do not
(D) to show what a volcano looks like when it erupts and what it looks like before it erupts
4 The photograph of Devils Tower is MOST important to the reader because it shows