Arches
National Park
Arches National Park preserves over 2,000
natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate
Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources
and formations.
The
park is located near Moab, Utah, and is 119 square miles
in size. Its highest elevation is 5,653 feet at Elephant
Butte and its lowest elevation is 4,085 feet at the visitor
center. Since 1970, 42 arches have toppled because of erosion.
The
area, administered by the National Park Service, was originally
designated as a national monument on April 12, 1929. It
was redesignated a national park on November 12, 1971.
Delicate Arch is a freestanding natural
arch. It is the most widely-recognized landmark in Arches
National Park. Because of its distinctive shape, the arch
was known as "the Chaps" and "the Schoolmarm's
Bloomers" by local cowboys. It was given its current
name by Frank Beckwith, leader of the Arches National Monument
Scientific Expedition, who explored the area in the winter
of 1933-1934. Delicate Arch is formed of Entrada sandstone.
The original sandstone fin was gradually worn away by wind
erosion, eventually leaving the arch. Other arches in the
park were formed the same way but due to placement and less
dramatic shape are not as famous.
The
Hike to the Arch
The Delicate Arch is located at the end of a moderately
strenuous, 1.5 mile (2.4 km) hiking trail from the parking
area at Wolfe Ranch. Taking more than an hour each way,
the round trip is slightly more than 3 miles long and the
Arch is completely hidden from view on this trail.
The
first third of the hike is through rugged, brushy terrain
and gains slightly in elevation. The middle third of the
hike is along the face of an exposed slickrock outcrop and
is strenuous due to the gain in elevation, but offers better
views of the geology in the salt valley. Cairns (piles of
rocks) have been placed by visitors and park staff to roughly
suggest the otherwise unmarked trail to the top, yet visitors
tend to wander all over the huge expanse of completely exposed
sandstone. The latter third of the trail is the most rugged,
as hikers have now nearly reached the "top" of
the plateau. The Arch is still invisible, and the trail
runs around outcrops, through washes and between stands
of twisted brush and trees. The trail may be easier to follow,
but meanders as parts become muddy and difficult to walk
through. During the 2004 fall season, the trail clearly
followed the left (northern) side of the plateau, and brought
visitors along a narrow shelf nearly 150 feet above a dry
wash.
The
arch comes into view suddenly around a corner in the trail
and frames the La Sal Mountains to the southeast. The immediate
area around the Arch offers views of the southern expanse
of the park, and has unguarded cliffs plunging one hundred
feet or more.
Double
Arch is a famous close-set pair of arches -- one of the
more impressive features of Arches National Park in Utah,
USA. The arches are reached by a short walk (approx. 200
meters) from the area parking lot. There are no guardrails
or fences to prevent visitors from exploring directly beneath
and through the arches.
The
area was used as a backdrop for the opening scene of Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade, in which the arches are briefly
visible. However, the cave shown in the movie does not exist.
Double
Arch was formed differently than most of the arches in Arches
National Park. It is known as a Pothole Arch - it formed
by water erosion from above rather than more typical erosion
from the side.
The
Arches National Park photo gallery |
