Arches is dominated by exposed bedrock, featuring cliffs, spires, canyon walls, hoodoos, rock domes, plus the famous windows and arches, all made of bare rock. These erosional phenomena are all carved from the sedimentary rock layers with sandstone being the major rock type. Its beautiful shades of reds to oranges, interspersed with cappuccino white, give the park its special palette.
I am fascinated that sandstone is strong enough to form cliffs and domes and yet able to support spans to create magnificent arches like Landscape Arch, the longest arch in North America - almost 100 meters! At its narrow point it is just under 2 meters in diameter.
A huge chunk fell off the arch in the 1990's and it feels like it is hanging on by a thread.
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| The spectacular Landscape Arch |
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| Each angle is quite outstanding. |
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| The approach from the Devil Garden Trailhead is quite surreal. |
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| The walk is an easy 3km, but the temperature was barely 1 degree and with the windchill we were cold. This first view is a just a taste of how incredible the views are along the approach. |
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