Arches National Park, where towering spires, balanced rocks, and tall pinnacles often perched on seemingly inadequate bases, create a dramatic landscape. Salt under pressure is unstable so that the salt bed lying beneath this park was no match for the weight of a thick layer of rock above it. The salt layer shifted, buckled, liquified and repositioned itself, thrusting rock layers upward as domes. Wind, ice and water have subsequently made their own contributions to the landscape outcome.
Hikers on the pinnacle base help us to conceptualise the scale of these features.
Arches National Park, where towering spires, balanced rocks, and tall pinnacles often perched on seemingly inadequate bases, create a dramatic landscape. Salt under pressure is unstable so that the salt bed lying beneath this park was no match for the weight of a thick layer of rock above it. The salt layer shifted, buckled, liquified and repositioned itself, thrusting rock layers upward as domes. Wind, ice and water have subsequently made their own contributions to the landscape outcome.
Hikers on the pinnacle base help us to conceptualise the scale of these features.
Laura G Photography
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