About Arches National Park
The purpose of Arches National Park is to protect extraordinary examples of geologic features including arches, natural bridges, windows, spires, and balanced rocks, as well as other features of geologic, historic, and scientific interest, and to provide opportunities to experience these resources and their associated values in their majestic natural settings.
Arches National Park lies above 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 (Mya) 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 200 Mya), 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 Mya), was deposited on top of the Navajo. Over 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of younger sediments were deposited and have been mostly eroded. Remnants of the cover exist in the area including exposures of the CretaceousMancos Shale. The arches of the area are developed mostly within the Entrada formation.[9]
The weight of this cover caused the salt bed below it to liquefy and thrust up layers of rock into salt domes. The evaporites of the area formed more unusual "salt anticlines" or linear regions of uplift.[9]Faulting occurred and whole sections of rock subsided into the areas between the domes. In some places, they turned almost on edge. The result of one such 2,500 ft (760 m) displacement, the Moab Fault, is seen from the visitor center.
As this subsurface movement of salt shaped the landscape, erosion removed the younger rock layers from the surface. Except for isolated remnants, the major formations visible in the park today are the salmon-colored Entrada Sandstone, in which most of the arches form, and the buff-colored Navajo Sandstone. These are visible in layer-cake fashion throughout most of the park. Over time, water seeped into the surface cracks, joints, and folds of these layers. Ice formed in the fissures, expanding and putting pressure on surrounding rock, breaking off bits and pieces. Winds later cleaned out the loose particles. A series of free-standing fins remained. Wind and water attacked these fins until, in some, the cementing material gave way and chunks of rock tumbled out. Many damaged fins collapsed. Others, with the right degree of hardness and balance, survived despite their missing sections. These became the famous arches.
Although the park's terrain may appear rugged and durable, it is extremely fragile. More than 1 million visitors each year threaten the fragile high-desert ecosystem.[10] The problem lies within the soil's crust, which is composed of cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, and lichens that grow in the dusty parts of the park. Factors that make Arches National Park sensitive to visitor damage include being a semiarid region, the scarce, unpredictable rainfall, lack of deep freezing, and lack of plant litter, which results in soils that have both a low resistance to and slow recovery from, compressional forces such as foot traffic. Methods of indicating effects on the soil are cytophobic soil crust index, measuring of water infiltration, and t-tests that are used to compare the values from the undisturbed and disturbed areas.[11]
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These fine art limited edition pictures are available for purchase as the highest quality photography prints possible today. Beginning with the artistic skill to capture beautiful images of wonderful scenes and using the highest resolution digital and film ( Yes, I do occasionally use Large Format Film Cameras) equipment your selected print is designed and produced to assure that these artworks will give you the pleasure of having fabulous mountain scenes on the walls of your home or office to enjoy for years to come. Fine art photography prints can help to relax and sooth you while taking your mind away from the worries of todays issues. No matter if it is in autumn, winter, spring, or summer, landscape and wildlife photography bring not only a feeling of adventure but drama, the quest for the unknown and the thrill of viewing pristine wilderness.
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The photos from this gallery are made as collectible, museum quality, exclusive, fine art, limited edition luxurious prints. These prints are made from the finest materials in the industry and are available as Lumachrome® HD Trulife® Acrylic Prints, Metal Prints,Canvas , ready to hang wood mounted Plaques and Fuji Crystal Archive Prints. The prints ordered from this gallery are delivered signed and numbered. In addition, along with the luxurious collectible print you will receive a Certificate of Authenticity sign by myself.After selecting the desired photo, just select the type and size of print you would like to purchase in the area beneath the photo. If you are looking for a different size than what is shown or have any other questions or special needs, please contact us.. For more information and details regarding these museum quality landscape prints for sale, please click on this link to our Prints Page. I appreciate you taking the time to look at the many images I have to offer and if you have any questions or special needs, I would be happy to hear from you.
