Arches National Park contains the largest density of natural stone arches in the world. Over 2,000 sandstone arches have been cataloged, including the world-famous Delicate Arch..The Park contains 76,679 acres with elevations that vary from 4,085 feet to 5,653 feet, making it a great late spring vacations spot before all of the summer tourist arrive.
The Park is part of a salt bed formation that is thousands of feet thick. Over the past 100 million years the softer parts of the deposits eroded away, leaving fin-like rock formations. During the winter months water entered cracks in the stone and then froze and expanded, breaking off additional chunks of rock. Over a period of time, openings in the fins developed, forming the arches that are visible today. The arch openings are still expanding; and in the fall of 2008, Wall Arch collapsed.
The Turret Arch formation actually contains three separate arches, but one large arch dominated the formation. .
While we were exploring the Park, we met a tourist that said she was Danish, but spoke German, and wanted to go on a RonnieAdventkure; so we invited he to join us for part of our trip.
Balanced Rock stands 128 feet tall, and is one of the most iconic features in the Park. A Park sign states that the rock is not really "balanced" because the 3,600 ton "slick rock boulder of Entrada Sandstone sits attached to its eroding pedestal of Dewey Bridge Mudstone." Someday, the Mudstone will erode away and the Sandstone rock will fall from its pedestal!
Double Arch is the tallest arch (112 feet) and second-longest arch (144 feet) in the Park. The arch is unusual in that two massive arches are joined at one ene.
The North Window Arch is a massive formation with steps that lead up the slope, so it is possible to stand underneath the arch.
There are many well-maintained hiking trails that meander between the arches.
When I first visited Landscape Arch, there was a hiking trail that went under the arch. However, in 1991 a large part of the arch collapsed and then in 1995 there were two additional rock falls, so the Park Service closed the hiking trail. Landscape Arch is the fifth longest natural arch in the world, with a span of 290.1 feet.
Delicate Arch is a free-standing 60-foot tall and is the most widely recognized landmark in Arches National Park. A picture of the Arch appears on Utah License plates. In preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the Olympic Torch Relay passed through the arch. The dark color on the inside of the arch is a result of a photographer who built a large fire under the arch so that he could demonstrate a nighttime photo technique to a group of amateur photographers. In addition to being kicked out of the park and put on probation, the photographer was fined $10,900 to help cleanup up the mess.
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