Friday, April 24, 2009

The Arches National Park

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 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

Today new arches are being formed and old ones destroyed. Erosion and weathering work slowly but relentlessly creating landforms that gradually change through time. 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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