LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

A PORTFOLIO EDITED BY JEFF KIDA

PORTAL

In architecture, a portal is an entrance or gate in a wall. Elaborate, ornate portals often are found in Gothic and Baroque churches and palaces. In nature, portals usually are simpler. They sometimes occur in the sandstone walls of slot canyons, such as Antelope Canyon near Page. Larry Lindahl

SPIRES

A spire is the termination of a tower, and it's usually shaped like a pyramid or a cone. Milan Cathedral is famous for its forest of spires and pinnacles. The hoodoos at Chiricahua National Monument are a natural illustration: They formed over tens of thousands of years, as ice gradually widened cracks in the volcanic rock to create otherworldly columns. Jack Dykinga

COLUMNS

When people think of columns, they often imagine Greek and Roman architecture, but the use of these weight-bearing structural elements dates to at least the Iron Age. In contrast, ponderosa pines and aspens, such as these along the Grand Canyon's Rainbow Rim Trail, need only support themselves - and an occasional squirrel or bird. Shane McDermott

ARCH

A curved structure that spans an opening is known as an arch. Some arches are free-standing, while others support the weight above them. Arches in nature rarely are as symmetrical as those found in architecture, but Royal Arch, near the Navajo Nation town of Cove, comes fairly close when viewed at the correct angle. David Muench

SYMMETRY

Symmetry in architecture became common as civilizations arose, although the ways in which symmetry has been employed in building design have shifted over time. Sometimes, we come across near-perfect symmetry in nature, such as this blooming saguaro cactus in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Jack Dykinga

BUTTRESS

A buttress is a projecting support that's built against a wall to resist the outward thrust caused by the weight of a building's roof. This natural rock "buttress" in the Sedona area ordinarily offers a stunning view, but when this photo was made, it was shrouded by a heavy layer of fog. Mark Frank

MOSAIC

Mosaics date to around 3000 B.C., and while they aren't strictly an architectural element, pieces of colored glass or stone have been arranged into pieces of art to adorn buildings throughout history. These jumbled pieces of petrified wood at Petrified Forest National Park are more random than a typical mosaic, but they're beautiful in their own way. Thomas Wiewandt

TERRACES

One of the best-known examples of terraces in architecture is Fallingwater, the Pennsylvania home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built over a waterfall. It's easy to picture a similar structure in Havasu Canyon, where the blue-green water of Havasu Creek tumbles over “terraces” of travertine. Suzanne Mathia

DOME

The use of domes in architecture extends into prehistory, and today, domes adorn the U.S. Capitol, St. Peter's Basilica and other iconic structures. A similar shape can be found in SP Crater, north of Flagstaff. Estimates vary on the age of this cinder cone volcano, but some scientists say it's more than 70,000 years old. Tom Bean AH