![]() Our next stop was the Delicate Arch hike. Related: 10 Fun Things to Do in Moab, Utah Delicate Arch It's a fun way to teach kids about the park and nature and being responsible with both. Our children have collected Junior Ranger badges from national and state parks all over the U.S. Ask for the activity booklets at the ranger desk. The Junior Ranger program is free and it's great for kids ages 5-12. This is where you'll find information about the park, Junior Ranger books, modern bathrooms, gift shop, water bottle filling station and more. Stop at the visitor center just inside the park entrance at the beginning or end of your day. There are many great stops for families in Arches. On one President's Day weekend in Moab, Utah, we only had half a day to spend in Arches National Park, so we focused on our favorite places and saved the rest for another time. It's just a few hours from home, so we have been there with our kids, grandparents, and friends many times. The same goes for the red and white sandstones in Zion National Park, where the research was done.ĭelicate Arch This symbol of Utah (it's on the license plates) is at the end of its own road, half-way through the park on the right (east) side of this map.Thinking about Arches National Park? It's one of my favorite places. Where organic-rich groundwater has flowed through the sandstones (while they were underground), it removed the rust and turned them white. See how many cross-beds you can find that show the wind direction 160 million years ago!Ībout white versus red sandstone: Recent research suggests that the original color of the sandstones was red from its iron oxide (rust) content. Sand dune cross-bedding shows which direction the wind blew - down the steepest slopes (the slip face). You can see the joints responsible for this national park. Continued fracturing, falling, and erosion will widen the spaces between the ridges. ![]() Here's a joint that has just parted a slab from its fossil dunes. If that process cuts all the way through the ridge, an arch forms. Where a ridge gets undercut by erosion, it collapses in arcuate slabs that fall and are eroded away. Erosion along the joints has cut the sandstone into long, narrow ridges. How Arches Form Chances are, it isn't what your 7th grade science teacher told you! Get the real, complete story in Part 1.Īrches are collapse features, and wind has nothing to do with them! The long, parallel fractures in the sandstones at Arches are called joints. Because of the nature of the sandstone ridges, however, places like Delicate Arch, Double O Arch, Fiery Furnace, and most of Devil's Garden are not accessible to wheel chairs. I was there in late April, and even then was able to avoid crowds by seeing the most popular features in early morning and late afternoon/evening.Īccessibility: Quite a few trails and locations in Arches are accessible to everyone, including the Landscape Arch and Sand Dune Arch trails described here (chairs with some help or power to get over sand) and the amazing panorama view points. ![]() Visit the middle of the park in the middle of the day. Then wait until about 4 pm to go to the other. and drive directly to one or the other to beat the crowds. In summer, you'd be wise to arrive before 9 a.m. Mid-day during the summer, parking becomes impossible. Traveling to Arches National Park (see Part 1) Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch are the most crowded places in the park, as crowded as any place you've been in Yosemite, Zion, or Yellowstone. Explore the world-famous arches and discover their geologic stories!
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