The Geologic Story of Arches National Park: Geological Survey Bulletin 1393Lohman, Stanley William
Science
The Geologic Story of Arches National Park: Geological Survey Bulletin 1393
Lohman, Stanley William
Arches National Park (Utah); Geology -- Utah -- Arches National Park -- Guidebooks
On the way back to the intersection with the main park road, we pass
stop 14, from which may be seen Pothole Arch (fig. 18). One and one-half
miles north of the intersection with the main road is the Panorama Point
parking area (stop 15), which affords fine distant views of Salt and
Cache Valleys and points beyond. A roadside exhibit portrays the gradual
development of the Salt Valley anticline, which supplements my
description on pages 27-32. A parking space a short distance farther
down the hill (stop 16) provides good distant views of the Fiery
Furnace. I tried several telephoto shots from this viewpoint, but
preferred my closeup views, such as the one shown in figure 44.
[Illustration: LOOKING SOUTHWESTWARD THROUGH NORTH WINDOW, from fin
shown beyond left side of North Window in figure 37. Turret Arch
(fig. 40) is seen at right middle ground, south rim of Moab Valley
to left of arch, Colorado River canyon forms left skyline. (Fig.
38)]
[Illustration: SOUTH WINDOW, viewed toward northeast. Arch is 105
feet wide and 66 feet high. See text. (Fig. 39)]
Delicate Arch Area
Two and a half miles northeast of the road intersection near Balanced
Rock, a gravelled side road leads northeastward to several points of
considerable interest. The photograph in figure 11 was taken from this
side road about half a mile northeast of the intersection. About 2 miles
to the northeast, just beyond Salt Valley Wash, is a parking area (stop
17) at the beginning of the trail past Wolfe’s Bar-DX Ranch (fig. 3) to
famed Delicate Arch, which is featured on the front cover. Although the
trail to the arch is only 1½ miles long, it crosses several hills at the
outset, then climbs 500 feet, mostly on bare Entrada Sandstone, so is
considered quite strenuous, particularly in hot weather. The Park
Service advises hikers to carry water. The Walt Disney crew, cameras,
gear, cougars, and all climbed this trail in the hottest part of the
summer of 1971 (see p. 16), while my wife and I were working in the
vicinity. Visitors who do not wish to make the hike may get a distant
view of Delicate Arch by driving to a parking area (stop 18) 1.3 miles
farther east.
[Illustration: TURRET ARCH, viewed northeast toward South Window,
part of which is visible on left. Small opening on right is visible
also in figure 38. Largest arch is 39 feet wide and 64 feet high;
smaller one is 12 feet wide and 13 feet high. A still smaller one,
not visible in the photograph, is 8 feet wide and only 4½ feet high.
(Fig. 40)]
[Illustration: PARADE OF ELEPHANTS, viewed west from end of trail to
Double Arch. Two elephants are on right, one on left. (Fig. 41)]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account