Arches National Park

Resembling a sea of shapes carved out of molten fire, the Arches National Park dominates the high desert of the Colorado Plateau. With numerous sandstone arches strewn across the landscape like unflinching soldiers of a fierce natural force, the park consists of the highest density of natural arches, with the highest recorded elevation at 5,653 feet (1,723 meters) peaking at Elephant Butte. The misshapen bluffs of the Arches National Park are the result of an evaporite layer or salt bed that lies underneath the park's surface. The park's arches and spires have been birthed by the subsurface movement of salt and consistent erosion. Of the staggering number of windswept arches in the area, the famous Delicate Arch is perhaps the most evocative. Along the expanse of this amber wonderland, an eternal interplay of light and shadow persists as sunlight pierces the sandstone fins that mark the terrain.