Within Devils Tower
In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg turns alien communication into a problem of navigation. The breakthrough does not come from a dramatic revelation about extraterrestrial intentions but from a sequence of numbers that scientists learn to read as geographic coordinates.
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Introduction
In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg turns alien communication into a problem of navigation. The breakthrough does not come from a dramatic revelation about extraterrestrial intentions but from a sequence of numbers that scientists learn to read as geographic coordinates. Once decoded, the signal points towards Wyoming, transforming Devils Tower from a strange landmark into the destination where contact is expected to occur. The result is one of the film’s most distinctive ideas: communication with aliens is not merely about receiving a message, but about finding a place. The journey to Wyoming becomes the mechanism that brings together researchers, witnesses and government authorities, all converging on the same point for different reasons. [AFI Catalog]catalog.afi.com67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KINDUnited States · White… longitude and the team determines that the location is in Wyoming.Read more…
The Signal as Longitude
Spielberg structures the middle section of the film around interpretation rather than spectacle. After researchers transmit the now-famous five-note musical sequence into space, they receive a response consisting of repeating numbers. At first the numbers appear meaningless. Then David Laughlin, the cartographer and translator on Claude Lacombe’s team, recognises that part of the sequence can be read as longitude. That insight changes the entire investigation. Instead of collecting UFO reports from around the world, the scientists suddenly have a geographic destination. According to the AFI Catalog summary of the film, Laughlin identifies the first numbers as longitude and the team determines that the location lies in Wyoming. [AFI Catalog]catalog.afi.com67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KINDUnited States · White… longitude and the team determines that the location is in Wyoming.Read more…
This narrative move is important because it gives alien communication a practical form. Earlier UFO stories in film often relied on warnings, invasions or mysterious sightings. Spielberg instead imagines contact as a process of decoding. The extraterrestrials do not announce themselves directly; they provide information that humans must interpret correctly. Geography becomes a shared language.
The film therefore treats coordinates as evidence. Once the numbers can be plotted on a map, speculation gives way to action. Scientists begin organising around a location rather than a theory. The message becomes less mystical and more operational: go here.
Scientists, Witnesses and Soldiers Converge
The coordinate system creates a remarkable convergence of otherwise unrelated groups.
The scientific team reaches Wyoming through analysis. They trust mathematics, cartography and communication theory. Their route to Devils Tower is intellectual.
The civilian witnesses arrive by a different path. Roy Neary, Jillian Guiler and others experience recurring visions of a distinctive mountain shape. They sculpt it, draw it and obsess over it before knowing what it represents. When media coverage reveals the government operation near Devils Tower, they recognise the landmark and realise that their visions and the scientists’ coordinates point to the same destination. [AFI Catalog]catalog.afi.com67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KINDUnited States · White… longitude and the team determines that the location is in Wyoming.Read more…
A third group arrives through state power. Once authorities accept that Wyoming is the target location, military and government personnel establish a controlled zone around Devils Tower. The area is evacuated under false pretences while preparations are made for the anticipated encounter. The coordinate message therefore triggers not only scientific inquiry but also logistical planning, surveillance and crowd control. [Wikipedia]WikipediaClose Encounters of the Third KindClose Encounters of the Third Kind
What makes the mechanism effective is that each group follows a different form of knowledge:
- Scientists follow decoded numbers.
- Witnesses follow psychological compulsion and visual memory.
- Government officials follow strategic necessity.
The film’s structure repeatedly demonstrates that all three routes lead to the same point in Wyoming.
Why Mapped Contact Feels Credible
The coordinate device gives Close Encounters an unusual sense of realism. Viewers may not believe in UFOs, but they understand maps. Longitude and latitude belong to the everyday world of navigation, surveying and geography. By grounding the mystery in a recognisable system, Spielberg makes the extraordinary seem more plausible.
This choice also reflects the film’s broader fascination with expertise. The researchers do not solve the mystery through intuition alone. They use translation, mathematics and cartographic reasoning. The coordinate sequence functions almost like a scientific puzzle whose solution can be independently verified. Once a location is identified, anyone with a map could theoretically follow the same path.
The strategy differs from many science-fiction narratives in which contact happens accidentally. Here, arrival at the meeting place depends on successful interpretation. Humans are required to participate in the communication process. Contact becomes collaborative rather than passive.
The emphasis on mapping also reinforces the physical reality of Devils Tower itself. Unlike an invented planet or secret laboratory, the destination exists in a real and identifiable part of Wyoming. Spielberg’s use of an actual national landmark allows the audience to imagine plotting the route themselves, narrowing the distance between fiction and reality. The monument’s later association with the film became so strong that it significantly increased public attention and tourism to the site. [Intermountain Histories]intermountainhistories.orgIntermountain HistoriesClose Encounters of the Third Kind and Devils Tower…Devils Tower is a National Monument situated in Wyoming an… [EBSCO]ebsco.comdevils towerDevils Tower | History | Research StartersIn 1977, Devils Tower was used as the backdrop for the climactic end sequence of director…
A Route Rather Than a Revelation
The coordinate sequence is one of Spielberg’s most elegant storytelling mechanisms because it transforms a cosmic mystery into a navigational challenge. The aliens do not simply appear and explain themselves. Instead, they provide a trail that humans must follow.
By making Wyoming the endpoint of a decoded signal, Close Encounters of the Third Kind links wonder to geography. The film’s vision of UFO contact depends not only on lights in the sky but on maps, coordinates and movement across real landscapes. Devils Tower becomes the place where multiple forms of knowledge intersect, and the numbers that lead there become the route through which contact is made possible. [AFI Catalog]catalog.afi.com67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KINDUnited States · White… longitude and the team determines that the location is in Wyoming.Read more…
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Books and field guides related to Wyoming Coordinates Ca 19 D9. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
The UFO Experience
Hynek created the close-encounter framework that inspired Spielberg's film title and served as an adviser on the movie.
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One of the most influential books on UFO culture and the mystery-oriented approach echoed in Spielberg's work.
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Endnotes
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Source: catalog.afi.com
Title: 67160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
Link: https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67160-CLOSE-ENCOUNTERS-OF-THE-THIRD-KINDSource snippet
United States · White... longitude and the team determines that the location is in Wyoming.Read more...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind -
Source: ebsco.com
Title: devils tower
Link: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/devils-towerSource snippet
Devils Tower | History | Research StartersIn 1977, Devils Tower was used as the backdrop for the climactic end sequence of director...
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Source: intermountainhistories.org
Link: https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/226Source snippet
Intermountain HistoriesClose Encounters of the Third Kind and Devils Tower...Devils Tower is a National Monument situated in Wyoming an...
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Source: movie-locations.com
Title: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Link: https://movie-locations.com/movies/c/Close-Encounters-Of-The-Third-Kind.phpSource snippet
1977The striking sawn-off peak of Devil's Tower National Monument can be found in the northeast corner of Wyoming in the Black Hills Nati...
Additional References
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1ny6w31/devils_tower_and_close_encounters_movie/Source snippet
Devils Tower and Close Encounters MovieI finally went and visited Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, which featured so prominentl...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-utNsc-W_loSource snippet
DEVIL'S TOWER Wyoming | Close Encounters of The Third...In todays vlog we head to Devils Tower in Wyoming, but on the way we explain the...
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Source: instagram.com
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DYhqnh4j410/Source snippet
ranced by brushes with aliens in director Steven Spielberg's...Read more...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/12117541695/posts/10162519318906696/Source snippet
they were receiving the numbers from the visitors transmission?...
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Source: movies.stackexchange.com
Title: Is it because the UFOs had been visiting
Link: https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/120957/how-did-the-scientists-know-that-the-ufos-would-be-landing-at-the-devils-towerSource snippet
did the scientists know that the UFOs would be...6 Sept 2023 — After they decipher the co-ordinates, it seemed like they were expecting...
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Source: themerica.org
Title: close encounters of the themed kind
Link: https://www.themerica.org/blog/2018/01/14/close-encounters-of-the-themed-kindSource snippet
14 Jan 2018 — Devils Tower, northeastern Wyoming. All over the world, people are drawn to locations used in favorite movies.Read more...
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Source: people.math.harvard.edu
Link: https://people.math.harvard.edu/~knill/various/encounters/index.htmlSource snippet
Encounters of the Third Kind16 May 2020 — According to this page the coordinates (40-36-10N, 104-44-30W) aren't close to the Devils Tower...
Published: May 2020
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (5/8) Movie CLIP
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUYCIwyMZTQSource snippet
4 Close Encounters at Devils Tower - That's WY...
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Source: cowboystatedaily.com
Link: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/05/31/50-years-later-sci-fi-fans-still-find-their-close-encounters-at-devils-tower/Source snippet
Cowboy State Daily50 Years Later, Sci-Fi Fans Still Find Their 'Close...31 May 2026 — Fifty years ago, the cameras rolled on “Close Enco...
Published: May 2026
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Simple Math in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_SzGX0_5WYSource snippet
3 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (5/8) Movie CLIP - Who Are You People? (1977) HD...
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