Arches in Training

This shot was taken in the Windows Section of Arches, about 9 miles into the park. The rock is sandstone and quite porous with superficial cracks, joints and folds. Over time, water seeps into these fissures, freezes, expands and causes the rock to break away. These cavities, being on the bottom of a pile of rock, tend to collect the water, seeping from above. Over time this process produces an arch and further out in time, the arch will be no more than a couple of spires (as the erosion continues). The process is the engine behind Bryce, Natural Bridges many of the other parks on the Colorado Plateau