© Animotion video Productions
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.