Devil's Tower National Monument

And you thought it was just a prop from a sci-fi flick. Nope, it's real, and it's a National Monument to boot, as this 50th Anniversary Commemoration stamp proclaims.

The Devil's Tower National Monument is significant in it's own right, Stephen Spielberg notwithstanding. Devil's Tower became the nation's first national monument when it was proclaimed as such on September 24, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

But just what is a National Monument? And how is it different from a National Park? Haven't you always wondered that? I have.

According to the National Park Service, there are no less than fifteen designations for federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior through the Park Service.

Seems like a lot.

The National Parks are "generally large natural places having a wide variety of attributes, at times including significant historic assets." You can't hunt or mine or otherwise consume resources in a National Park.

National Parks are contrasted with National Preserves. National Preserves are basically National Parks that can be hunted, mined, or otherwise consumed. Seems like there's a whole lot more "preserving" going on in the Parks than in the Preserves, but who am I to question the logic of the federal government?

National Monuments were defined by the Antiquities Act of 1906. This act "authorized the President to declare by public proclamation landmarks, structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest situated on lands owned or controlled by the government to be national monuments."

We also have National Historic Sites, National Historic Parks, and National Memorials. All are set aside to preserve and commemorate someone or something. The sites contain a single item of historical significance while parks contain a collection of such items. The memorial can commemorate just about anything, and does not have to be geographically tied to that which it memorializes (think of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial as an example).

I should think that National Battlefields and National Cemeteries are fairly self-explanatory.

We have National Recreation Areas, which, as best as I can tell, differ from National Parks in that the focus of a National Recreation Area is on family fun rather than basking in the glorious natural beauty of a National Park (although I'm sure that National Recreation Areas are quite lovely as well).

There are National Seashores, National Lakeshores, and National Rivers, but I don't know why these cannot somehow be encompassed in National Parks, National Preserves, and National Recreation Areas. I guess it's too expensive to change all the signs.

You can also find National Parkways winding through scenic portions of the United States. My favorite parkway is the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. (Helpful hint: Don't get a speeding ticket on a National Parkway– it's a Federal Offense!)

National Trails are "linear parklands authorized under the National Trails System Act of 1968".

And if you can't somehow squeeze the piece of property in one of those previous categories, you can always fall back on the designation of Affiliated Area. An Affiliated Area is "any area of land and water now or hereafter administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service for park, monument, historic, parkway, recreational or other purposes." In other words, an Affiliated Area generally meets the criteria of, well, one of the other designations, but, for whatever reason, doesn't.

You know what you should do right now? You should turn off your computer, get outside, and visit one of our wonderful National Parks.