Devil's Tower, also known as Mato Tipila or Bear's lodge, was formed over 50 million years ago. Rising dramatically from the Wyoming plains, this spellbinding monolith is a pillar of Lakota Sioux mythology, and an enduring challenge to rock climbers worldwide. But through thousands of years of human fascination, one critical question remains unanswered: how did it get here?

Kilauea in Hawai'i has been in a state of near-constant eruption for decades, providing researchers with a uniquely reliable setting to study one of our planet's most unpredictable and destructive forces. In a time of climate panic and tangible ecological destruction, what can we learn about the survival of our planet from one of the harshest environments on Earth?