Delicate Arch in the Setting Sun
Perhaps the best-known feature in Arches National Park in Utah is the arch called Delicate Arch or Cowboy's Chaps or Old Maid's Bloomers.
A remnant of an ancient fin, this free-standing arch is perched at the edge of a slickrock bowl, looking across mesas and canyons and the Colorado River. Delicate Arch is formed of Entrada Sandstone. The original sandstone fin was gradually worn away by weathering and erosion, leaving the arch.
I had gotten my timings wrong and knew I wasn't going to get up there for the classic sunset shots, so instead took this view from the Delicate Arch Viewpoint ridge to the south-east, whilst there was still a fair amount of time before sunset.
The small dots on the horizon to the left of the arch are people, giving a great sense of scale and there are also a couple to the right of the arch if you look carefully.
It is the most widely-recognised landmark in Arches National Park and is depicted on Utah license plates and on a postage stamp commemorating Utah's centennial anniversary of statehood in 1996. The Olympic torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics passed through the arch.
Taken with a 500mm mirror lens and a x2 converter. Scanned from a negative.
Delicate Arch in the Setting Sun
Perhaps the best-known feature in Arches National Park in Utah is the arch called Delicate Arch or Cowboy's Chaps or Old Maid's Bloomers.
A remnant of an ancient fin, this free-standing arch is perched at the edge of a slickrock bowl, looking across mesas and canyons and the Colorado River. Delicate Arch is formed of Entrada Sandstone. The original sandstone fin was gradually worn away by weathering and erosion, leaving the arch.
I had gotten my timings wrong and knew I wasn't going to get up there for the classic sunset shots, so instead took this view from the Delicate Arch Viewpoint ridge to the south-east, whilst there was still a fair amount of time before sunset.
The small dots on the horizon to the left of the arch are people, giving a great sense of scale and there are also a couple to the right of the arch if you look carefully.
It is the most widely-recognised landmark in Arches National Park and is depicted on Utah license plates and on a postage stamp commemorating Utah's centennial anniversary of statehood in 1996. The Olympic torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics passed through the arch.
Taken with a 500mm mirror lens and a x2 converter. Scanned from a negative.