Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert recently took a road trip to the Pembina Gorge in northeastern North Dakota. The Pembina Gorge extends from the Canadian border west of Walhalla and encompasses one of the largest uninterrupted blocks of woodlands in North Dakota of approximately 12,500 acres and the longest segment of unaltered river valley in the state. Surging waters carved the Pembina Gorge out of soft marine shale, creating one of the deepest and steepest river valleys in North Dakota. In this rugged and sheltered setting, an enormous swath of forest is nestled in transition zone where three different biogeographical provinces come together — boreal forest, eastern deciduous forest and central grassland. The Pembina Gorge is home to the most extensive oak woodland in the state. It also contains extensive wetland thicket with notable fauna density, the greatest development of birch woodlands, the least locally disturbed river system, the largest collective area and greatest association number of upland shrub lands. At least 65 different natural diversity features have been documented to be in the Pembina Gorge, including 30 plant species and 21 animal species, which are categorized as “rare” in the state.