Adventure Lovers’ Paradise: Arches National Park [47 PICS]

January 28th, 2012 Permalink

Arches National Park is a gorgeous 76,679 acre landscape which preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches. The park is located in eastern Utah, right outside Moab which is an outdoor adventure lovers’ paradise. The park is in the high desert where the forces of nature like erosion have exposed millions of years of geologic history, diverse colors and textures of arches and very unusual rock formations. 43 arches have collapsed since 1970, yet still the beauty of nature here will leave you in awe. Arches National Park is an outdoor adventure lovers’ paradise with many activities such as backpacking, biking, camping, canyoneering, commercial tours, hiking, rock climbing and plenty to keep a photographer busy. According to the National Park Service, “To many, the most outstanding natural features of Arches are the park’s geologic formations. Over 2,000 catalogued arches range in size from a three-foot opening (the minimum considered to be an arch), to Landscape Arch which measures 306 feet from base to base. Towering spires, fins and balanced rocks complement the arches, creating a remarkable assortment of landforms in a relatively small area.” [47 Photos]

Arches National Park, Utah, Delicate Arch -- The iconography of time

Delicate Arch at Arches National Park ‘The iconography of time’ is the title given to this amazing long exposure capture. The photographer said, “Billions of years ago some of those stars sent their light on a journey to delicate arch long before its grains of sand had even settled to the bottom of a vast ocean. This complex intermingling of time and space and light fills me with much awe, wonder and inspiration. I live for these moments.” Photo #1 by Jason Corneveaux

Winter Camp Wash,  Rock Settee pillar, Arches national park

Double Rainbow over Winter Camp Wash, Arches National Park. The photographer wrote, “While the arch was looking quite spectacular against the light of the setting sun, my attention was diverted to the Rock Settee pillar where a double rainbow had started to form from the small drizzle that was still pouring down. I got some really great shots of the Wash area while huddling myself and my camera underneath a tiny umbrella. Sadly, I was unable to change to a wider lens at that point. It was then I realized the need for an umbrella caddy. Any volunteers?” Photo #2 by Sathish J



Rappelling, Owl Rock

Rappelling, Owl Rock. Photo #3 by NPS / Neal Herbert

Pothole Reflection - The Organ

Pothole Reflection: The Organ. This is an outdoor adventure lovers’ paradise with many activities such as backpacking, biking, camping, canyoneering, commercial tours, hiking, rock climbing and plenty to keep a photographer busy. Photo #4 by NPS / Neal Herbert

Double Arches at Arches National Park

Double Arch is two arches that share a common end. Photo #5 by Steven Martin

The Three Gossips at Arches National Park, Utah

The “Three Gossips” at Arches National Park, Utah. Photo #6 by Sanjay Acharya

Double Arch by night

Double Arch by night. Photo #8 by Jeffrey Stylos

Windows of Arches National Park

Windows of Arches National Park. Photo #9 by Scott Law

Panorama of the Garden of Eden in Arches National Park

Panorama of the Garden of Eden. Photo #11 by Christian Mehlführer

Arches National Park, Utah

NPS states, “Although Arches may appear harsh and unchanging, the desert ecosystem is continually evolving. Weather, climatic shifts and geologic processes continue to shape this environment as they have for millennia.” Photo #12 by Jon Sullivan

Landscape Arch - Devil's Garden - Arches NP

Landscape Arch located in Devil’s Garden. Landscape Arch is a very thin and long arch with a span of 290 feet (88 m). Devil’s Garden has many arches and columns scattered along a ridge. Photo #13 by NPS / Neal Herbert

Dawn at Arches National Park, adventure seekers jumping arches, moab utah

The photographer noted, (Moab, Utah) “Some guy totally ruins an enthusiast photographer’s attempt at capturing the dawn serenity of Arches National Park’s North Window arch. Jumping photos take a few attempts to get a lucky frame like this one, and of course both dudes roadtrippn’ must pose in mid air, so double the attempts….The poor photographer in question can be seen in the upper right section of the arch; for once we were the early risers. Alas, the sun was already too high for him to get anything good so we probably did him a favor by bogarting his scene…” Photo #14 by Jon Martin

Balanced Rock -- Arches National Park

Balanced Rock is a large balancing rock that is the size of three school buses. Photo #15 by NPS / Neal Herbert

Sunrise on Thanksgiving Morning in the Garden of Eden in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah

Sunrise on Thanksgiving Morning in the Garden of Eden in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. The photographer added, “This is a seldom photographed view of South Window Arch and the eastern-most part of the rock formations that make up the Garden of Eden. The reason this view is rarely photographed is because it covers a 180 degree field of view from southeast to northwest. This is a panoramic image created from 10 vertical HDR frames. Photo #16 by Nathan Van Arsdale

Moon In Delicate Arch

Moon In Delicate Arch. Photo #17 by Scott Law

Mules Ears and Courthouse Towers

Mules Ears and Courthouse Towers. Photo #18 by NPS

Milky Way over Balanced Rock

Milky Way over Balanced Rock. Photo #19 by Jason Corneveaux

Dark Angel in Arches National Park

Dark Angel is a free-standing 150-foot (46 m) tall sandstone pillar at the end of the Devil’s Garden Trail. Photo #20 by Matthias Kabel

arches national park last stand

“Last stand,” is what the photographer called this shot. Photo #21 by David (darkmatter)

Moab, Utah, landscape. Lone tree at Arches National Park

Lone tree landscape near Moab, Utah. Photo #22 by Jamie Grant

Landscape Arch from the other side

Landscape Arch from the other side. The photographer noted, “This view of Landscape arch in Arches National Park in Utah requires a climb on stark rock marked only by stone cairns. Well worth it, though.” Photo #23 by Tim Hamilton

Big Horn Sheep at Arches National Park

Big Horn Sheep at the park. Wikipedia states, “There is an abundance of wildlife in Arches. The list includes: spadefoot toad, scrub jay, peregrine falcon, many kinds of sparrows, red Fox, desert bighorn sheep, kangaroo rat, mule Deer, mountain lion, midget faded rattlesnake, yucca moth, many types of cyanobacteria, Western rattlesnake, and the Western collared lizard.” Photo #24 by NPS

Park Avenue

Park Avenue. Photo #25 by NPS

Panorama of Tower of Babel in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah

Panorama: Tower of Babel. Photo #26 by Shannon Martin

Fiery Furnace -- Skull Rock

Fiery Furnace — Skull Rock. Photo #27 by Donar Reiskoffer

Wall Arch Before and After 2008 Collapse

Wall Arch before and after collapse in 2008. Photo #29 by NPS & #30 by NPS

The Courthouse Tower, Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

The Courthouse Tower is a collection of tall stone columns. Photo #31 by Nagaraju Hanchanahal

Turret Arch

Turret Arch. The photographer wrote, “Water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park.” Photo #32 by Elvin

Arches National Park - Fiery Furnace Panorama

Fiery Furnace Panorama. Photo #33 by Jean-Christophe BENOIST

Devils Garden Trailhead at Arches National Park

Devils Garden Trailhead at Arches National Park. According to Wikipedia, Devil’s Garden has “a series of rock fins that have broken out of the earth due to erosion and produce many spectacular views. The Devil’s Garden Trail that travels throughout Devil’s Garden is just over 7 miles (11 km) long and leads to the Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, Black Arch, Dark Angel monolith, Private Arch, and Fin Canyon. Wall Arch, before its collapse in 2008, was also located here. The trailhead is at the end of the main road in Arches National Park. A campground and amphitheater are also available at the site.” Photo #34 by Sanjay Acharya

360° Panoramic view from primitive trail to Devils Garden

360° Panoramic view from primitive trail to Devils Garden. Photo #35 by Matthias Kabel

Turret Arch Trail with Fresh Snow

Turret Arch Trail with Fresh Snow. Photo #38 by Arches National Park NPS / Neal Herbert

Queen Nefertiti Rock in Arches NP

Queen Nefertiti Rock in Arches NP. Photo #39 by Daniel Mayer

arches national park

Arches national park. Photo #41 by Kevin Galens

Interesting perspective of Arches National Park

Interesting perspective of park. The photographer wrote, “The scale is really weird in this thanks to using my wide-angle lens with a really small aperture. The dead tree in the foreground is actually pretty small, and the rocks in the background very large and a good quarter mile or so away.” Photo #42 by Steve Harbula

Horse Rider Ute Tribal Rock Art at Arches National Park

Ute tribal rock art taken at Arches National Park, where there are many petroglyphs. Picture shows stylized horse and rider surrounded by bighorn sheep and dog-like animals. This was carved between A.D 1650 & 1850. Photo #43 by Sanjay Acharya

Petrified Dunes in Arches NP

The Petrified Dunes are rock formations in Arches National Park; the ancient sand dunes hardened into stone and later eroded away. The dunes are located off of the park road between the Courthouse Towers and the Windows Area. Photo #44 by Daniel Mayer

Moab, Utah -- The pride of Arches National Park; Delicate Arch, stretches towards the Milky Way

Moab, Utah: The pride of Arches National Park; Delicate Arch, stretches towards the Milky Way. Photo #47 by Jon Martin



12 Responses to “Adventure Lovers’ Paradise: Arches National Park [47 PICS]”

Leave a Reply