Arches National Park Utah

Arches National Park Moab Utah

Arches National Park is located in Southeastern Utah in Grand County. Arches contains one of the largest concentrations of natural sandstone arches in the world. The arches and numerous other extraordinary geologic features, such as spires, pinnacles, pedestals and balanced rocks, are highlighted in striking foreground and background views created by contrasting colors, landforms and textures. With the addition of the Lost Spring Canyon area, the park is 76,519 acres in size. 

Arches National Park is open year-round. The majority of park visitors come March through October, with lowest visitation in December and January. You can enjoy sightseeing by personal car, hiking, biking (established roads only), picnicking (3 designated picnic areas in park), and camping.

Geologic Features and Processes: Over two thousand natural sandstone arches, the greatest concentration of rock arches in the world, are preserved in Arches National Park. Most arches are formed in three named geologic units (the Dewey Bridge Member of the Carmel Formation, the Slick Rock Member of the Entrada Sandstone, and the Moab Member of the Curtis Formation). In addition to the arches, Arches National Park is home to an extraordinary collection of balanced rocks, salt dissolution structures, folds resulting from salt tectonics, petrified dune fields, and a maze of deep narrow canyons.

The arches are a result of a unique geologic history. This history involves the formation of salt deposits (back in Middle Pennsylvanian to Late Triassic time; circa 300 million - 228 million years ago), and other sedimentary deposits (from Middle Pennsylvanian to Late Cretaceous time; circa 300 million to 70 million years ago), as well as the folding and faulting of these deposits in Tertiary time (circa 65 million to 2 million years ago) and finally to Quaternary (last 2 million years) erosion and salt dissolution. At Arches, the proper conditions for arch formation all coalesce. 

These include the following:

·         Presence of massive hard brittle sandstones jointed by faulting activity

·         Resting on or containing soft layers or partings

·         Located near salt-cored anticlines experiencing dissolution

·         A dry climate

Arches National Park contains many "classic" or “iconic” geological sites. Among these are the following:

·         Delicate Arch

·         Landscape Arch

·         The Windows Section

·         Balanced Rock

·         Park Avenue

·         Devils Garden

·         The Great Wall

·         Klondike Bluffs

·         Moab Fault

·         Fiery Furnace

·         Cache Valley

·         Elephant Butte Folds

·         Petrified Dunes

·         The La Sal Mountains viewpoint (though well south of Arches NP; it is an important viewshed feature)

Arches National Park has over 2,000 stone arches, this particular free-standing arch has become a widely recognized symbol of the state of Utah and one of the most famous geologic features in the world.

How to Reach: Arches National Park is located in Moab, Utah and is accessible by air or car from Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Grand Junction. Here’s how we recommend getting to Arches.