2014-26 Arches National Park, Utah
Hello All,
As we have mentioned before, Arches National Park is truly a red rock wonderland unlike any other in the world. Driving the scenic roads through the colossal giant sandstone formations is an awesome experience.
As we have mentioned before, Arches National Park is truly a red rock wonderland unlike any other in the world. Driving the scenic roads through the colossal giant sandstone formations is an awesome experience.
There are over 2,000 natural stone arches within the national park. It is the densest concentration of natural stone arches in the world. They range from sliver-thin cracks to spans greater than 300 feet. To be one of the park’s official stone arches, a hole must have an opening of at least three feet in any direction. As erosion occurs, the arches slowly take on a variety of shapes.
Sandstone is made of grains of sand cemented together by various minerals--but not all sandstone is the same. The Entrada sandstone found in Arches National Park was once a massive desert, full of shifting dunes of fine-grained sand. The grains are rounded and when packed together they formed a rock that is very porous. On average, the park receives 8-10 inches of precipitation a year. That might not sound like much, but it’s enough to keep the engines of erosion working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Rainwater soaks into the porous Entrada sandstone easily and then slowly dissolves the calcite bonding that holds the sand together. Standing puddles of water at the bottom of the Entrada layer, erode cavities into the sandstone. In winter, water trapped between the layers expands when it freezes, prying the rock apart. The results are some amazing sandstone arches.
Delicate Arch below is an example of an arch carved by Mother Nature in Entrada sandstone. The top is a five-foot thick layer of Moab Tongue. A remnant of an ancient fin, the arch today has an opening 45 feet high and 33 feet wide. Delicate Arch at sunset might be the most famous image to photograph in the park. And, yes, it is the arch found on the Utah license plate.
Sandstone is made of grains of sand cemented together by various minerals--but not all sandstone is the same. The Entrada sandstone found in Arches National Park was once a massive desert, full of shifting dunes of fine-grained sand. The grains are rounded and when packed together they formed a rock that is very porous. On average, the park receives 8-10 inches of precipitation a year. That might not sound like much, but it’s enough to keep the engines of erosion working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Rainwater soaks into the porous Entrada sandstone easily and then slowly dissolves the calcite bonding that holds the sand together. Standing puddles of water at the bottom of the Entrada layer, erode cavities into the sandstone. In winter, water trapped between the layers expands when it freezes, prying the rock apart. The results are some amazing sandstone arches.
Delicate Arch below is an example of an arch carved by Mother Nature in Entrada sandstone. The top is a five-foot thick layer of Moab Tongue. A remnant of an ancient fin, the arch today has an opening 45 feet high and 33 feet wide. Delicate Arch at sunset might be the most famous image to photograph in the park. And, yes, it is the arch found on the Utah license plate.
To help with perspective here is a shot of Delicate Arch with people around it.
Arches in the following photos are known as “The Windows.” They consist of the North and South Window and are a very popular attraction for tourists visiting the park. While you can see them easily from the parking lot it is only about a half mile or less walk up a trail to them. Folks seem to like to have their photos taken standing underneath these large arches.
They really are quite spectacular.
Here is a shot of Miss Barb at the South Window. You can climb up into the window if that suits your fancy. However, the North Window is far easier as the trail takes you right up into it.
If you look closely there are a total of nine people under the North Arch in this photo. Hard to see aren’t they! The individual on the right silhouetted is the easiest to see. It gives you an idea of how massive these arches are.
Another popular place to visit is Balanced Rock. The forces of erosion are sculpting more than just arches in the park. Balanced Rock clearly shows the various layers responsible for this amazing defiance of gravity. The cap rock of the hard slick rock, member of the Entrada sandstone is perched upon a pedestal of mudstone. The softer Dewey Bridge, a lighter color, is a member of the Carmel Formation, and weathers more quickly than the resistant rock above. Eventually, the faster-eroding Dewey Bridge will cause the collapse of Balanced Rock.
At a total height of 128 feet the Balanced Rock formation is spectacular. The rock being balanced on top measures 55 feet high and is estimated to weigh a whopping 3,500 tons. We chose not to stand too close to it for a photo. However, it doesn’t look quite so precarious from this side of it.
Skyline Arch is an easy half-mile walk from the parking area. On a cold November night in 1940, a large chunk fell out of the arch, instantly doubling the size of its opening.
This vast area was once covered by extensive sand dunes. Some 200 million years ago, wind from the northwest carried tons of fine-grain sand into this area, creating an immense desert. Over time, the sand grains were covered by other layers of sediment, compressed, and cemented by quartz and calcite into Navajo Sandstone. Erosion has since washed away the overlying layers, exposing the ancient dunes.
These ancient dunes are often erroneously referred to as “petrified,” implying they were once organic, like wood. Here the term simply means sand cemented into rock.
Snow capped peaks in the background of the photos are the La Sal Mountains.
Snow capped peaks in the background of the photos are the La Sal Mountains.
These next four photos are all of Turret Arch located near “The Windows.” The Turret Arch Trail gives you many different perspectives of the arch, in addition to great views of the North and South Windows. Here are some of the different landscapes. In this photo it looks like a fairly small arch.
The trail takes you into, around, and through the arch. In our eyes it is well worth taking the time to explore it. And as you can see, it is actually a double arch.
Different angles offer completely different perspectives. In the shot below the smaller arch is hidden from view.
Next on the agenda was Sand Dune Arch. It was a unique adventure since the trail into the arch takes you through deep powder sand amongst a maze of sandstone fins. After about a half mile an area opens up like a sandy courtyard surrounded by the fins. It is here where the arch is located. While the arch wasn’t all that impressive in our eyes we found the trail to it most interesting.
Here Miss Barb is standing at the trailhead to Sand Dune Arch--yup, you have to squeeze between the rocks!
Here Miss Barb is standing at the trailhead to Sand Dune Arch--yup, you have to squeeze between the rocks!
This is a shot along a wider portion of the sandy trail.
Here Dave is keeping the rocks separated so that Miss Barb can get through…maybe not! Behind Dave you can see where the Park Service had installed a barbed wire fence to keep folks from going straight ahead into this area. The trail to the arch made a 90-degree turn at this point.
This is Miss Barb in the sandy courtyard standing underneath Sand Dune Arch. It was awesome hiking within the maze of sandstone.
In some areas of Arches National Park there are miles of these canyons and fins that you can hike into. Probably the most famous and challenging area is named Fiery Furnace. Only 50 hikers per day are allowed into the area by permit. Permits are available online but tend to sell out months in advance of the busy summer season. October or November would be a friendlier time for this hike. The Park Service advises that your first time into Fiery Furnace that you go on a ranger guided tour or with someone that has hiked into the area before.
Here is a distant shot of Fiery Furnace. It stretches for about another photo width on both sides of this photo. The area is mind boggling when you see it in person.
Here is a distant shot of Fiery Furnace. It stretches for about another photo width on both sides of this photo. The area is mind boggling when you see it in person.
We hope our little write-ups have given you a brief overview of Arches National Park. It is truly a wonderful place to visit no matter what your activity level is. It is a park that we highly recommend.
Our next adventure will take us into scenic Canyonlands National Park also in Utah. We hope you will consider joining us on that jaunt.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Our next adventure will take us into scenic Canyonlands National Park also in Utah. We hope you will consider joining us on that jaunt.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns