Water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rocky scenery of Arches National Park. On clear, blue-sky days it is difficult to imagine such violent forces, or the 100 million years of erosion, that created this land boasting of one of the world's greatest densities of natural arches. Over 2,000 cataloged arches range in size from a three-foot opening, the minimum to be considered an arch, to the longest, Landscape Arch, measuring 306 feet base to base.
Today new arches are being formed and old ones destroyed. Erosion and weathering work slowly but relentlessly,creating dynamic landforms that gradually change through time. Change sometimes occurs more dramatically. In 1992 a rock slab 50 feet long, 11 feet wide and four feet thick fell from the underside of Landscape Arch, leaving behind an even thinner ribbon of rock.
Delicate Arch, an isolated remnant of a bygone fin, stands on the brink of a canyon, with the dramatic La Sal Mountains as a backdrop. Towering spires, pinnacles and balanced rocks-perched atop seemingly inadequate bases-vie with the arches as scenic spectacles here.
I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.
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