ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
Arches National Park in
eastern Utah, USA has the greatest concentration of natural rock arches
anywhere in the world (see map). The arches in the area are developed in
reddish quartzose sandstones of the Slick Rock Member of the Entrada
Sandstone (Jurassic).
The geologic origin of the
arches is a moderately complex story (partial dissolution of salt diapirs,
collapse & differential erosion of overlying jointed sedimentary units,
development of long & moderately tall sandstone ridges, surficial
undercutting along the base of the Slick Rock Member, gaps form along the
sandstone ridges).
This is the South Window
Arch, located in the Windows section of Arches National Park.
South Window Arch is located at the southern end of
the ridge near center. (Satellite photo provided by DigitalGlobe & Google Earth)
The opening scenes of the
Steven Spielberg movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed in
the Windows section of Arches NP, particularly in the Balanced Rock &
Double Arch area.
Balanced Rock in Arches
National Park. The Balanced Rock itself is relatively hard quartzose
sandstone (Entrada Sandstone, Slick Rock Member). The underlying beds are
softer interbedded fine-grained & coarse-grained siliciclastics (Entrada
Sandstone, Dewey Bridge Member). The Dewey Bridge unit, being softer,
weathers & erodes more quickly. The Slick Rock unit, being harder,
erodes more slowly.
Balanced Rock is the
shadowed patch of red rocks at center. (Satellite photo provided by DigitalGlobe &
Google Earth)