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Arches, Canyonlands, San Rafael Swell, Capitol Reef and GrandStaircase/Escalante with The World Outdoors (www.theworldoutdoors.com) (September 2002) |
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Introduction
Arches & Canyonlands are presented here or you can jump to one of the other sections by clicking below San Rafael Swell (Goblin Valley State Park & Little Wild Horse Canyon) |
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Arches National Park
This 73,000 acre park is famous for the red sandstone arches that occur there in great profusion--the visitor center sells a map showing the location of over 1000 ranging in size from Landscape Arch (with an 89 meter span) to small ones 3 feet across (this is the minimum dimension for them to be officially classified as an arch).
The entrance is on US 191, 20 miles south of I-70 and just north of Moab, which is the biggest town in southeast Utah and seems to be mainly full of motels and mountain bike shops. Moab is close to several scenic areas, including Canyonlands National Park, the Escalante National Monument as well as Arches. The park road climbs up a steep cliff with several sharp switchbacks and then winds for 25 miles through the sculptured red rocks passing close to many of the major features, although much can only be seen by walking along various trails.
The Windows Section: First, the road passes Park Avenue and Courthouse Towers--monolithic spires and ridges of rock standing isolated in largely flat desert terrain. Then it crosses an undulating landscape of petrified sand dunes for 5 miles before a turn-off leads to the Windows Section--the first major concentration of arches. Everything in this area can be seen either from the road or along short hikes, so all visitors should go at least this far.
Delicate Arch: After 2.5 more miles along the main road there is a turn off to Wolfe Ranch, an old log cabin built next to a seasonal creek by early settlers in 1888. From the ranch a 1.5 mile trail crosses the creek via a small suspension bridge and leads across smooth slickrock to the especially scenic Delicate Arch; perched precariously on the edge of a small canyon. This is the most famous arch in the park and has been adopted as the state symbol, appearing on Utah Centennial license plates. There are magnificent views across the multicolored rock landscape of the park, and of the snow-covered La Sal mountains towards Colorado. (This trail was our introduction to the park.)
The Fiery Furnace: The next major feature is the Fiery Furnace--not arches, but a maze of eroded red and cream-colored fins with sheer narrow ravines between them. Many people become lost walking through this area, so guided tours are given during the popular visitor season. The park road continues past several other arches and terminates at Devil's Garden trailhead. Here, a 2-mile walk leads to 7 major arches including Landscape Arch, the longest in the world. In 1992, a large slab of rock fell from underneath so it may not survive much longer. (The Fiery Furnace is a restricted area so we viewed a short film in the visitor’s center so we could enter it--it was fabulous!)
Klondike Bluffs: Because of deep sand and steep grades, a 4WD vehicle is required to visit other areas such as Klondike Buffs, a scenic concentration of arches and fins in the NW area of the park
The Geologic Story
Arches NP lies atop an underground salt bed, thousands of feet thick in places, which was deposited about 300 million years ago when a sea flowed into the region and eventually evaporated. Over millions of years the salt bed was covered with residue from floods, winds, and the oceans that came and went and much of this debris was compressed into rock. Under pressure, the salt layer shifted, buckled, liquified, and repositioned itself, thrusting some the rock layers upward into domes while other whole sections dropped into cavities. Surface erosion stripped away the younger rock layers and the major formations seen in the park today are the Entrada Sandstone, in which most of the arches form, and the Navajo Sandstone. Over time a series of free-standing fins remained and then in some of these the cementing material gave way and chunks of rock tumbled out. Many damaged fins collapsed, but others with the right degree of hardness and balance survived without the missing sections and became arches. |
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This map shows the location of the Arches, Canyonlands, & Capitol Reef National Parks. The San Rafael Swell & Reef is bisected by I-70 right about where the I-70 road sign is shown & Grand Staircase-Escalante is SE of Bryce Canyon . |
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the Delicate Arch trail is a 3-mile round trip & is designed so the 45-foot high Delicate Arch won't come into view until the last moment |
1) click on a thumbnail picture to view a larger image 2) right click on the larger image to save the picture 3) click on your Internet Browser's Back arrow to return to this page
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Wolfe Ranch Cabin built in 1888 as viewed from the trail |
Note: This sounds like a lot for 5 1/2 days but The World Outdoors
does a superb job and you don't feel rushed. I enjoyed EVERY minute of
the trip and was disappointed when it was over. I rate this trip a
"11" on a 10 point scale!
