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, and is 119 square miles in size. Elevations are ranging from 4,000 to about 5,600 feet; the temperature can be as high as 110 degrees in summer.
The park lies atop an underground salt bed, which is the main cause of the formation of the arches and spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths in the area. As the subsurface movement of salt shaped the Earth, surface erosion stripped away the younger rock layers. The major formations visible in the park today are the salmon-colored Entrada Sandstone, in which most of the arches form, and the buff-colored Navajo Sandstone.
Water, ice, and wind eroded and thus shaped the sandstone until only a few free-standing fins remained. Water and wind continued to attack those fins, until parts of the material gave way. Many damaged fins collapsed but others, with the right degree of hardness and balance, survived and became the famous arches.
A 40-mile round-trip paved road leads to the major sights, including Balanced Rock, Skyline Arch, Double Arch, the Windows section, Fiery Furnace, and the park's most famous geologic feature - Delicate Arch.
Past the park entrance, the road climbs up a steep cliff with several sharp switchbacks – once you have reached the top of the cliff, this is the first interesting section of the park.
This is the first area containing a major concentration of arches and other formations. The area itself is reached by a 1 mile (round trip) trail starting at the Windows parking area.
Sand Dune Arch is named for its location in a sandy slot between two fins. The area’s dune-like sand is particularly fine and has a pinkish red tone – a clear indication of its sandstone origin.
Devils Garden is the longest of all maintained trails in the park (7.2 miles round trip, including all spur trails to points of interest). It contains eight of the best known arches in the park, including the longest one, called Landscape Arch.
Directions
In our opinion, the best way to visit Arches National Park as well as Canyonlands National Park is to go to the town of Mohab and stay there for a few days. Starting at Mohab, follow 191 North for about 6 miles and then Arches visitior center will be to your right.
