Delicate Arch

The camera stands on the sloping rim of the bowl, on the same ledge visitors walk in on after the three mile climb from the trailhead. The arch is ahead of you, freestanding on the far lip of the bowl with nothing behind it but sky - which is the whole reason it photographs the way it does. People give it scale: at 46 feet from the ground to the top of the opening, anyone standing underneath comes up to about a third of its height. The bowl itself falls away steeply between you and the arch, a smooth funnel of sandstone that people edge around rather than cross. Turn away from the arch and the ground drops off into open desert with distant mountains on the skyline.

The extraordinary formations of Arches National Park, which include the greatest density of natural arches in the world, have been shaped by the forces of nature. Wind, rain, erosion, and the porous nature of the sandstone have all combined to sculpt a labyrinth of fanciful arches, hoodoos, balanced rocks, canyons, and fins in beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown. The rock formations in Arches, such as Landscape Arch and Delicate Arch (pictured above), have become iconic symbols of the Southwest. Delicate Arch is the most famous-it appears on the Utah state license plate and on a postage stamp commemorating Utah's statehood, and it was included on the torch run to open the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

This is high desert country, with altitudes around Arches ranging from more than 4,000 feet to nearly a mile above sea level. It is a landscape of extremes, with very hot summers, very cold winters, and very little rainfall. The temperatures can fluctuate 50 degrees in a single 24-hour period. The plant and animal species here have adapted to this harsh environment, and many of them are found only in this area. Wildlife includes bobcats and foxes, mountain lions and owls, coyotes and mule deer, jackrabbits, eagles, hawks, snakes, and lizards.

Along with the geological history, the region around Arches has cultural significance as well. The hunter-gatherers of 10,000 years ago came here to find the forms of quartz that were excellent for making stone tools and weapons. By about 2,000 years ago, they began to settle and cultivate crops such as squash, beans, and maize. They built settlements like the Anasazi cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde in neighboring Colorado and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. The Spaniards passed through the area on what is known as the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that actual settlements were established. The settlers were Mormons who attempted to establish a mission in what is now Moab. By the early 1900s, the fame of the beautiful landscapes began to draw sightseers. In 1929, Arches was made a national monument, and in 1971, it became a national park.

Today, visitors come to see the beautiful rock formations. A number of these, like Balanced Rock, are accessible from the main road. Most, like Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch, can only be accessed by hiking trails, and this is the most popular activity for most visitors, as trails cross through the labyrinthine collection of sandstone arches.