PAST

NEXT

Much like the dark side of the moon, there are some places on this planet that never get direct sunlight. Such a place is like this one here, at the foot of the Devil's Tower, in northeast Wyoming. There is a unique area of ground on the north side of the tower that is always cloaked in the shadow of the huge igneous rock. 

"The Smooth Side" as it is called, is the very north face of the tower. On this side of the rock the face is much smoother. Cracks between columns are much thinner or non-existent. On the sun-drenched side temperatures vary much more radically; ice thaws and freezes, jimmying the cracks in the rocks. Circling the tower you enter various different climates. On the north side, snow lingers causing damper soil, thus creating an environment for a diversity in vegetation.