Part 6 - Arches National Park
At Arches National Park, geological conditions are just right for the formation of arches. As with the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon, the process is thought to begin with the formation of fins. "Fins are narrow, residual walls of hard sedimentary rock (e.g., sandstone, limestone) that remain upright after adjacent rock has been eroded away along systematic parallel joints or fractures on either side" (quote from Wikipedia article "Fin (geology)"). Then weathering creates a window that gradually enlarges.
Skyline Arch.
Tunnel Arch.
Pine Tree Arch.
We did a short hike on sand, between rock walls, to get to Sand Dune Arch.
Delicate Arch is the iconic arch that appears on Utah license plates. We did not do the three-mile hike across desert to it, so this telephoto shot is as close as we got.
North Window Arch and South Window Arch.
Turret Arch.
Double Arch.
We named this one "Almost Arch".
Balancing Rock.
Near Garden of Eden Viewpoint, we saw climbers on this rock; one was already at the top, and the other was starting at the bottom.
The top climber provided a cable for the bottom climber. Here the bottom climber is about 1/3 of the way to the top.