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Excerpt from "Utah's National Parks" by Ron Adkinson and published by Wilderness Press Arches National Park, encompassing 75,519 acres of desert and slickrock in east-central Utah, is one of the most delightful national parks on the Colorado Plateau. The Park is small enough that many of its primary features can be viewed from the road, yet large enough to provide a rewarding backcountry experience for adventurous day hikers and backpackers. The unique examples of nature's sculpture and architecture are on a grand scale here, but nevertheless the landscapes in the park evoke awe and wonder in anyone who gazes upon them. Arches are natural stone openings found throughout the sand formations on the Colorado Plateau, but are quite rare elsewhere in the world. They can be found in virtually every national park in Utah, but in Arches National Park there is a profusion of holes in rock; nowhere else on the globe does the concentration of arches approach that within this small park.... However, natural arches are only a small part of the overall scene in the Park. Pinnacles, towers, cliffs, deep canyons, broad grass valleys, and a rainbow of colorful rocks foreground distant views on endless deserts, lofty alpine peaks, wooded mesas, and vast plateaus. ...The fascinating landscape of Arches beckons hikers to explore its secrets...The land is magical, its images are powerful, and your memories will last a lifetime. |