Ungolden Arches (30 June)

We had been told the park can become quite congested between about 10 am and 2 pm so we were there shortly after 8 am and were surprised to find that we could find a place to park a long motorhome everywhere we stopped. The complexity of the geology is interesting. Many phases have deposited various minerals, muds and organic matter and then compounded it through pressure from layer upon layer on top. The time scale is hard to imagine.

One feature is named balancing rock. A tubular rock. It looks as though it was carefully placed there round rock is sitting on another The entire structure is 40 meters high and is calculated to weigh over 3,500 tonnes. 

We had to walk over a more difficult path to see another feature, delicate rock, so named because bits of the arch are loose and it will soon collapse. Of course, in this context, soon means anywhere from 10 to 10,000 years. 

The walk to Delicate Arch took us past a petroglyph, a picture formed by picking pieces of rock off the surface. This one is estimated to be only 150-400 years old because it shows hunters on horseback and horses were only present here from about 1650 onwards.

Sand Dune Arch. This was hidden inside a narrow crevasse formed by chemical changes in salt, causing collapse of structures.

The land continued to surprise us with a variety of shapes and forms. We don't know the names for many but did find them interesting. In general the land is very dry and the survival of plants and animals surprises us.