Arches National Park

Red Rock, Contrasting Colors, rock

Wonderland, Amazing Sunsets, Extreme

Heat, Timeless and Indestructible Look,

but yet, Fragile Land.

The   Arches   National   Park   is   located   in   Utah,   and   it      lies atop   an   underground   evaporite    layer   or   salt    bed,   which is   the   main   cause   of   the   formation   of   the   arches,   spires, balanced   rocks,   sandstone    fins,   and   eroded   monoliths in   the   area.   This   salt   bed   is   thousands   of   feet   thick   in places,   and   was   deposited   in   the   Paradox   Basin    of   the Colorado   Plateau    some   300   million   years   ago   when   a sea   flowed   into   the   region   and   eventually   evaporated. Over   millions   of   years,   the   salt   bed   was   covered   with debris    eroded    from    the    Uncompahgre    Uplift     to    the northeast.    During    the    Early    Jurassic     (about    210    Ma) desert   conditions   prevailed   in   the   region   and   the   vast Navajo      Sandstone       was      deposited.      An      additional sequence   of   stream   laid   and   windblown   sediments,   the Entrada   Sandstone    (about   140   Ma),   was   deposited   on top   of   the   Navajo.   Over   5000   feet   (1500   m)   of   younger sediments     were     deposited     and     have     been     mostly eroded   away.   Remnants   of   the   cover   exist   in   the   area including   exposures   of   the   Cretaceous    Mancos   Shale . The   arches   of   the   area   are   developed   mostly   within   the Entrada formation.