Devil's Garden
I took this two-frame panorama from atop a fin in the Devils Garden in Arches National Park, UT. I seem to remember feeling lost at this point of my hike!
The rock is mainly Entrada Sandstone. The fins seen here are actually an intermediate stage in the erosion of sandstone. Over time, water seeped into superficial cracks, joints and folds in the rock; ice formed in the fissures, expanding and putting pressure on surrounding rock, breaking off bits and pieces. Winds later cleaned out the loose particles and a series of freestanding fins remained.
Water and ice will attack these until more chunks fall out. Many damaged fins collapse but others, with just the right degree of hardness and balance, survive. These become the famous arches found throughout this park and elsewhere in the US South-West. Further erosion will cause the arches to collapse, resulting in hoodoos. That's the geologic story of the area - probably. Apparently the existing evidence is largely circumstantial...
A truly spectacular landscape that deserved more careful and longer appreciation but I didn't have that opportunity, although I did get properly sunburnt on the back of my legs during the day - ouch!
The map location is a bit of a guess!
Devil's Garden
I took this two-frame panorama from atop a fin in the Devils Garden in Arches National Park, UT. I seem to remember feeling lost at this point of my hike!
The rock is mainly Entrada Sandstone. The fins seen here are actually an intermediate stage in the erosion of sandstone. Over time, water seeped into superficial cracks, joints and folds in the rock; ice formed in the fissures, expanding and putting pressure on surrounding rock, breaking off bits and pieces. Winds later cleaned out the loose particles and a series of freestanding fins remained.
Water and ice will attack these until more chunks fall out. Many damaged fins collapse but others, with just the right degree of hardness and balance, survive. These become the famous arches found throughout this park and elsewhere in the US South-West. Further erosion will cause the arches to collapse, resulting in hoodoos. That's the geologic story of the area - probably. Apparently the existing evidence is largely circumstantial...
A truly spectacular landscape that deserved more careful and longer appreciation but I didn't have that opportunity, although I did get properly sunburnt on the back of my legs during the day - ouch!
The map location is a bit of a guess!