Arches National Park

Trails Illustrated Map: UT - Arches

Arches National Park

Moab, Utah

Red rock sandstone cliffs, giant balanced rocks, slender monoliths, the red rock formations appear to be giant sculptures.
Arches National Park contains the world’s largest concentration of natural sandstone arches.
2,000 arches are located within the parks 76,518 acres.  
From the new, this year, visitors center take the 18 mile scenic drive.  Many of the rock formations are visible from the road with numerous pullouts and view points.
This is a landscape, sculpted by nature.  Spectacular displays of eroding Entrada and Navajo sandstone, shape the scenes.  The Entrada sandstone is the beautiful dark, salmon  color and Navajo is the lighter, desert buff.  Making a beautiful contrast.
Manganese and iron appear as black streaks on exposed rock surfaces to add to the beauty.
Photography opportunities here are endless.  The landscape with naturally occurring geologic wonders, sandstone fins, pinnacles and spires.
The beauty is left to the eye of the beholder to capture uniquely through their lens.
A great way to start this and every excursion into a National park is to stop at the visitor’s center.
Arches National Park visitor center is open all year. There is a very informative 15 minute movie for your information on the history on the park.
Today new arches are being formed and old ones are being destroyed.  Erosion and weather are relatively slow but are relentless, creating dynamic land forms that gradually change over time.
Take nothing but pictures.
Waste nothing but time.
Leave nothing but footprints.

Benchmark Road & Recreation Atlas: Utah

National Geographic Guide Map: Utah